I am very fortunate to have great coverage for medical food and formula. This has not always been the case. When I was out of school but doing my internship I had to rely on samples of formula to get me through. I was no longer eligible to be on my mother’s insurance. It was a struggle both financially and physically. At another point in my career, I found myself working as a metabolic dietitian in a metabolic clinic which treated PKU and the insurance I had through this hospital refused coverage of my medical food and formula. I was fortunate to work with an amazing doctor who met with the hospital administration and was able to reverse this and I and others working in the hospital were able to gain coverage for our medical foods and formula.
I am currently am insured under my husband’s company. Living in the state of Washington, I am grateful for his employer provided insurance and their coverage. The state of Washington will only cover one formula for PKU management. This particular formula is one that I do not tolerate and it would compromise my health if it was my only option. I was able to carry two successful pregnancies to term and have to very healthy children as a result of having coverage of medical food coverage. Without medical food coverage, my life would not have been the same.