By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post
Pedro Flores, a 2019 Fort Hays State University graduate, worked two jobs each summer he was in college to afford the the insurance he needed to pay for his insulin.
He knew there was no way he could afford the $500 a month for his insulin without the insurance.
"Unfortunately my mom worked a job that did not supply her with health insurance. I had no insurance going in," Pedro said of his start of college. "I was very worried about what I was going to do about affording the insulin itself possibly getting on this new technology that was coming out [an insulin pump]."
Flores, now an RN at HaysMed, said making sure he could afford his health care costs weighed heavily on his mind throughout college.
The stress of college made controlling the diabetes more difficult, but the the added financial strain added another level of anxiety, he said.
"With diabetes and insulin, I really couldn't live without the drug that I was working so hard to get," he said. "There was no in-between there."
Another student is hoping to ease the struggles of students like Flores through a charity and fundraising drive.
Anthony Ventura, a senior in pre-med, biology and chemistry, founded the American Healthy Heart Association, which is raising funds to help students pay for insulin.
"Think about being a student having to pay for college and the bills you have and on top of that having to worry about a $500 to $1,000 cost of insulin just for you to live," Ventura said.
Ventura of Plainville was inspired to create the organization in honor of his father and another relative, both diabetics. Venutra's father died in 2010 of a heart attack, a complication of his diabetes.
"For some people, I wish I could take it for them, because I feel bad for them," Ventura said.
He said this includes a close relative, who was also a FHSU student. This relative was one of the lucky ones because she was covered under her family's insurance while she was in college.
"If I could take it for somebody, I wish I could take her type 1 for her ... the needles and everything. I saw her go through college with type 1, " he said. "This was something that I wanted to show [her] that I am doing something for type 1."
Accacia Pedigo, a FHSU freshman who also has type 1 diabetes, feels she is also one of the lucky ones because she also has insurance through her parents.
Although her co-pay on her insulin is only $15 per month, she struggles to pay for all of the speciality foods and supplies that are necessary to control her diabetes.
A friend Pedigo with whom she graduated high school and who is attending another Kansas college has no insurance. She is paying $475 per month for her insulin, Pedigo said.
"Sometimes at school she wouldn't eat so she wouldn't have to use all her insulin," Pedigo said.
Pedigo participates in online support groups and sadly loved ones relate stories in the groups of people dying after attempting to ration their insulin.
People with type 1 diabetes are at a heightened risk for mental health issues, including diabetes distress, depression, anxiety and disordered eating, according to the American Diabetes Association.
"I think this will result in more students smiling, more students being able to work for themselves rather working just to pay for meds," Ventura said.
Flores said he did everything he could to stretch his insulin, doing everything he could to get the last drop of insulin out of the vials.
He has had vials of insulin break, and insurance will usually not replace the lost medicine. He said the American Healthy Heart Association could help students through those crises.
"I think I would have been a lot more stress free had I know this help available when I went to school," Flores said.
Funds are being accepted for the America Healthy Heart Association through November through the FHSU Foundation Eyes of the Tiger crowd funding program. The program provides technical support for fundraising projects for campus groups.
You can donate online to the AHHA's Insulin Aid Project by clicking here.
Ventura and his co-founder, Mark Faber, hope to raise $15,000 to support students with their insulin needs, with 100 percent of the donations going toward helping diabetic students with their health care needs. The campus student health center will help refer students to the program for assistance.
As an RN, Flores said he sees the high cost of insulin as a public health crisis.
"Especially now that I work in the hospital, just seeing these people coming in and needing insulin and being discharged from the hospital and verbally saying, 'I don't know if I can afford this at home,'" Flores said. "Then we have to coordinate that so they can go home and be successful."
Flores is hopeful the cost of insulin and technology, such as insulin pumps, will decrease in the future.
"For someone who didn't have the luck that I had and are not able to afford the insurance," Flores said, "it would be just a death sentence for them essentially."