If you have celiac disease you know that special gluten-free breads, cereals and other products cost more than their regular counterparts. In the United States most insurance companies do not pay for the gluten-free food even though it is a necessity for celiac patients. There was a link to an interesting article in a newsletter that I receive from the American College of Gastroenterology called “Digestive Health Smartbrief“.
The article is from the TimesUnion newspaper. It includes information about an insurance company that was paying for patients gluten-free food and then reversed their policy and now do not pay for the food.
The issue in question is whether they look at celiac disease as a severe allergy and advise that you don’t eat the foods you are “allergic” to. But we know that celiac disease or gluten intolerance is not an allergy. We MUST not eat foods containing wheat, barley and rye. We should not be deprived of ever eating bread or cereals or pizzas or beer ever again. Some countries give celiac patients money each year to cover the added costs of a gluten-free diet. One way around the insurance companies is to use a flexible spending account or a health savings account to use pre-tax dollars to pay for the extra cost.
Most of our diet will be fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, beans and nuts and meat and chicken which are not more expensive than they are for any person. But I recommend finding out the details of ways that you can pay for the added cost of special gluten free products by reading the above article, talking to your tax advisor and/or doing more research.
I do feel sorry for you having to pay out for all of your gluten free food (not to mention the rest of your health care!) We are fortunate in the UK to be entitled to free food which is prescribed by your doctor. You do have to pay a prescription charge to collect it (about £96 per year) but it still works out cheaper. It is recognised as a medical need here and it seems very unfair that your system discriminates against Coeliacs.
Although I get basics like flour mixes and pasta on prescription I still buy GF products from supermarkets and they do cost a lot more than ‘regular’ food.