Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Free Medicare Diabetes Screening


The American Diabetes Organization and more than twenty other organizations have created a national drive to promote diabetes testing in older adults. Diabetes testing is important because 1 in 3 older adults aged 65 and over have diabetes, but nearly 50% do not know that they have this disease.  In addition, another 40% have pre-diabetes. Individuals with diabetes are at risk for serious health problems such as blindness, poor circulation, and kidney damage. You can learn to manage your diabetes, but not until you are aware that you have this condition.  For more information about diabetes, click here.
  Medicare covers the cost of diabetes screening for most older adults aged 65 and older. You can qualify for the free blood glucose test if you are 65 and older, enrolled in Medicare, and have one of the following conditions:
  • high blood pressure
  • high cholesterol
  • are overweight
  • have a family history of diabetes
  • a history of gestational diabetes
You can read more about how to qualify on this webpage.

If you want to enroll in Medicare, please click here. If you would like to find a health care provider that accepts Medicare, please click here

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