A billing dispute means a mom must pay nearly $1,000 a month for her son's diabetes care

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2023/03/27/diabetes-treatment-care-cost/ [login to see] /
For Gianluca Cefalo, a new insulin pump has allowed him to reclaim his life.

The 12-year-old boy with Type 1 diabetes no longer visits the school nurse for an insulin shot before lunch. He doesn't worry about his blood sugar spiking or dropping when he sprints on the basketball court. He looks forward to baseball after taking last season off over frustration managing his blood sugar.

But a dispute between his family's health insurer and the company that makes the pump leaves his mom, Maria Chiodi, with a monthly bill of $872. Her family is struggling to afford the technology, she said.

"It's a little absurd to me as to how these two companies can't work together," said Chiodi, who lives in Millwood, New York with her husband and two children. For Gianluca Cefalo, a new insulin pump has allowed him to reclaim his life.

The 12-year-old boy with Type 1 diabetes no longer visits the school nurse for an insulin shot before lunch. He doesn't worry about his blood sugar spiking or dropping when he sprints on the basketball court. He looks forward to baseball after taking last season off over frustration managing his blood sugar.

But a dispute between his family's health insurer and the company that makes the pump leaves his mom, Maria Chiodi, with a monthly bill of $872. Her family is struggling to afford the technology, she said.

"It's a little absurd to me as to how these two companies can't work together," said Chiodi, who lives in Millwood, New York with her husband and two children.