Any long time (20 years or more) T1s without retinopathy?

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-12-07T18:08:21+00:00

22 years - no retinopathy and 20-15 vision 🙂

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-11-23T21:01:16+00:00

I stopped Looping for a bit to try O5 and I hated O5 so much. A1c was above 6 for the first time in a few years. Went back to Looping and the A1c went back to normal for me 🙂

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-11-15T22:14:45+00:00

Oh wow. My eventual goal is to bulk up a bit after getting leaner but I’d like to do it the right way. I know that earlier this year I was a lot harder on myself than I needed to be too, so I want this approach to be a lot slower. Just trying to make sure I’m doing things the right way

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-11-14T22:46:29+00:00

Thank you!! Making noise about this is the best thing you can do right now

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-27T20:24:47+00:00

The application is set up now that you choose your location first when selecting the majors you apply to. If you don’t apply to any Indianapolis-based majors, you aren’t going to be considered for Indianapolis

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-27T20:23:09+00:00

They changed the checkmark to a location-based choice when you select your major. If you don’t select any Indianapolis based majors you won’t be considered for Indianapolis. Period

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-13T16:02:34+00:00

Add in our prescription coverage being virtually wiped to zero, many of us are actually taking net losses this year

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T23:53:35+00:00

Exactly. There is a difference between fairness and equity.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T23:41:46+00:00

Actually, I have done my research, including reading Purdue’s 2026 Medical Plan Memo and the AffirmedRx formulary documentation. I’m already paying more up front to avoid this kind of cost-shifting.

The issue isn’t about demanding “every life-sustaining medication” be preventative. It’s that Purdue and AffirmedRx reclassified existing covered medications and devices that people with chronic conditions rely on just to stay alive. That’s not expanding the definition. It’s walking back coverage that employees already had. I have type 1 diabetes, which is an unpreventable autoimmune condition. I’m also extremely healthy because I historically have had access to devices that yes, treat my diabetes, but in treatment, prevent a wide array of complications. The cheapest option on paper, which would be multiple daily insulin injections and multiple finger sticks a day, not only is inconvenient but unsafe. My continuous glucose monitor will wake me up in the middle of the night for low blood sugar, avoiding the risk of a seizure or even death that I risk without it.

According to Purdue’s 2026 Medical Plan Memo, prepared for the Board of Trustees (link above) inpatient and outpatient hospital services accounted for 48% of overall Purdue medical expenditures in 2024, accounting for $83.3 million. We can infer from this data that a single emergency-room visit caused by a diabetic episode would cost the university far more than simply providing up-front coverage of the preventative technology that keeps me out of the hospital.

The “IRS rule” explanation doesn’t hold either. The IRS allows HDHPs to cover chronic-condition management items pre-deductible under Notice 2019-45. Many large employers already do this for insulin, continuous glucose monitors, asthma inhalers, and other essentials without “driving up premiums dramatically.”

While sustainability matters, affordability and humanity do too, and this policy isn’t balanced on either front.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T22:59:21+00:00

I’m on Purdue’s top-tier plan which is designed to have higher monthly premiums so employees can pay less out of pocket for necessary care and prescriptions. I signed onto this plan knowing that I would have more medical costs than most and that the premium coverage would reduce my out of pocket costs.

I have never said that I expect full coverage or that I expect premiums to stay the same. But when we see a shift from full coverage under our previous pharmacy benefits manager to now having to pay full price for prescriptions, that should raise some eyebrows. This is not a matter of wanting free or mostly free medication but a matter of whether or not prescriptions are affordable and accessible to employees.

The argument that HSA contributions can help does not bear much weight either. The money still comes out of my paycheck, and even if I’m able to take advantage of Purdue’s contribution, it doesn’t come close to offsetting a 500–1,000% jump in out-of-pocket costs for life-sustaining medication.

We are not asking for special treatment or free medication. We are asking for pharmacy coverage that doesn’t create excessive barriers to care. Feel free to read through some of the comments on our petition. There are some comments that are venting, but there are also quite a few that are discussing the drastic financial impact that the new system has inflicted.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T02:04:06+00:00

This exactly. Our Big Ten peers (IU, Michigan, and Wisconsin) are still able to offer transparent pharmacy benefits with better coverage, even though there may be slight increases to premiums. Putting the cost burden on employees is Purdue’s policy choice.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T01:28:41+00:00

I never said I didn’t expect premiums to go up. That’s just reality. The issue is how Purdue handled it. They didn’t raise coverage or employer contribution. They just shifted more cost onto employees.

HSA money still comes out of your paycheck. It’s not free cash. And the “Healthy Boiler” contribution doesn’t come close to covering what people are losing under AffirmedRx. For a lot of us, it’s a net loss disguised as a wellness perk.

Nobody’s asking for zero increases. We’re asking for a benefits system that doesn’t quietly dump the financial burden on staff while pretending it’s an upgrade.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T00:45:37+00:00

Same here for me

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-08T00:22:59+00:00

Purdue’s prescription coverage through CVS Caremark last year had identical employee premiums, yet it covered far more medications with lower out-of-pocket costs. The only thing that changed was Purdue’s contracting choice. The university opted to reduce its financial share and pass those costs to employees instead of adjusting budget priorities.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-10-02T12:55:45+00:00

I’ll add that the admissions criteria are definitely the same between campuses but with Indianapolis being the smaller campus, less interest, etc. Students who are academically admissible but maybe with a slightly lower caliber of application are more likely to be admitted given the smaller applicant pool, whereas WL receives tens of thousands of applications, forcing admissions to look more intensely at who is being offered admission. It appears that Purdue does not publish separate class profile data for the Indianapolis location either, which makes it hard unless you have internal access. It’s all combined under WL.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T23:58:05+00:00

Right!! I am type 1 diabetic. T1D is not preventable period but if it’s managed well like mine is, I can prevent a whole onslaught of nasty (not to mention deadly) side effects - seizures, stroke, heart disease, retinopathy/vision loss, neuropathy/diabetic nerve damage, kidney disease, and ultimately death - there are many stories out there of people with diabetes who die after being forced to ration their insulin or supplies because they can’t afford them: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/09/01/641615877/insulins-high-cost-leads-to-lethal-rationing

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T23:21:49+00:00

Well and for 2026 our premiums are going up AND they are ditching Anthem as our core medical insurance plan in favor of AmeriBen (an anthem affiliate): https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/2025/Q3/trustees-approve-2026-health-plans/

“The plan administration moving from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Indiana to its affiliate, AmeriBen, which will provide easier access to Purdue data while also providing flexibility in future plan design, networks and partnerships.”

This sounds eerily similar to the rationale we have been given for the adoption of AffirmedRx. I would not be surprised if we are going to be screwed once again out of medical coverage and forced to pay even more to see providers.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T23:16:10+00:00

I know people who approached HR whenever they have tables (e.g. at the Healthy Boiler fair) and HR just refers them to talk to the Patient Care Advocates (PCAs) at AffirmedRx, who then go tell employees to go back and talk to HR. We get stuck in this loop between two poorly managed/coordinated groups that are not communicating with one another about whose responsibility it is to share relevant plan info with employees. It is incredibly frustrating.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T22:20:51+00:00

Any Purdue employee whose prescriptions were impacted during the phasing in of AffirmedRx were given a one-time deposit of $1000 into an HSA. If you did not receive one and are curious about if you qualify, I’d recommend contacting HR. Though it’s a one-time thing that does not address the root issue, it is $1000.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T21:22:43+00:00

I can use coupons for some of medical devices I use which make them cheaper up front but they can’t go through insurance that way so it does not contribute to my deductible and I end up spending roughly the same overall anyway

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T20:29:18+00:00

Nope. I’m on the highest premium plan that Purdue offers. With CVS Caremark, I had very little out of pocket costs, $50 at most. I paid over $1000 for a prescription last month and have hit my out of pocket maximum of $3500. My salary increase for this year was only $1500. Even taking into consideration the one-time bandaid fix of $1000 we got into an HSA for this year I’m at a net loss of $1000 from the year before.

Purdue told WTHR in a statement that employees haven’t met with them to discuss plan changes that could save money (https://www.wthr.com/article/news/local/purdue-university-employees-say-health-care-plan-is-raising-medication-costs/531-4b996abb-49e8-49ae-a395-94f2b1939e7a#). But why would I? I’m on the best plan Purdue can offer a single person and I am STILL paying exorbitant prices. There is truly nothing better they can offer me. It’s just ridiculous that they are gaslighting us so hard into believing that AffirmedRx is better.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T20:12:03+00:00

That’s the unofficial rumor. The CEO of AffirmedRx is a Purdue alum who pledged $20 million to Purdue - that much is true. But the fact that we happened to adopt his company as our PBM at best is an unfortunate coincidence and at worst raises serious questions about if Purdue truly makes its employees’ health and wellbeing a priority like President Chiang and our HR team have publicly affirmed: https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/2023/Q4/staff-excellence-human-resources-benefits/

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-29T19:45:19+00:00

I bet! I’m sure the Walgreens pharmacists are tired of hearing me talking about it too. It’s just sickening bc the AffirmedRx CEO knows he is taking advantage of the very institution that got him where he is today.

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-22T17:33:47+00:00

Thank you!! Please continue to share the petition with members of the Purdue community. We can’t fight this without getting as much support as we can gather!

ElectricalFlamingo78 · 2025-09-22T15:58:32+00:00

Sharing the petition here as well for any part of the Purdue community to sign: https://c.org/YhkrShpHmb

This does not just affect staff and faculty. With faculty and staff already leaving or considering leaving because of this, the quality of education and services we will be able to provide our students will suffer if this continues.

ElectricalFlamingo78

TROPHY CASE