About
What is Type 1 Diabetes? Don’t older people have Diabetes? How does it affect families emotionally, financially etc…? Until we are confronted with the disease head on, the reality of its depth of influence in ones life is meaningless. Our ultimate goal for CJ’s Fate is to provide clinics run by Type 1 Diabetes Specialists to give the treatment and care that many Type 1 Diabetics lack due to financial status. The clinic will offer a much-needed method for these patients to self-insure by paying a monthly due of $100 to receive services such as: specialists visits, monthly supplies (insulin, test strips, pumps, glucose meters etc.), hospitalization stays, education workshops and the list continues.
CJ’s Angels Foundation was founded with the behind the scenes knowledge of what a family of a Type 1 Diabetic goes through financially, emotionally and medically. The inspiration for CJ’s Fate/CJ’s Angels hits close to home or in the founders case, in the home. Gina Procaccino decided to start a foundation that directly benefits Type 1 Diabetics because of the struggle she has witnessed in her own family. Christopher John Procaccino is her youngest sibling and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of nine, hence the inspiration for the name of the organization: CJ’s Fate. For the past eight years Christopher’s parents have sacrificed to provide the care a diabetic requires and rode the financial teeter-totter of qualifying for state provided health care, more recently paying out of pocket for specialist care, medical and testing supply needs and hospitalization which can be financially devastating over a very short term. In addition, the costs associated with insuring a child with Type 1 Diabetes starts at more than $600 a month for insurance coverage.
In the tug of war with health care today many families are caught in the “I make too much” – “I make too little” scenario. Meaning to qualify for state provided health care an individual or entire family must fall into a low-income or poverty status. The median percentage of the United States makes at least 20K more than what is considered poverty or low-income. Most people just assume that because they cannot qualify for state provided health care, private insurance is the answer. It is a plus that private insurance companies now accept pre-existing conditions which was a major milestone for Type 1 Diabetics, however an average health insurance policy for a family of 5 before underwriting (and a tiny detail of Type 1 Diabetes) the monthly cost starts at around $600. With the median of families in the United States making around $50K per year, that monthly bill for insurance is a big strain to afford if not impossible. Not to mention the financial and emotional turmoil of providing for the entire family in addition to the diabetic child. These vast gray areas of families that fall into this category are whom we are striving to make a difference for.
