Bill requiring insurance coverage of diabetes supplies wins final approval

ATLANTA - Insurance companies doing business in Georgia would have to provide coverage for diabetes medicine, testing supplies and self-management training under a bill given final legislative approval in the Senate on Wednesday. <br> <br> The measure, which passed 31-13, has already cleared the House and goes now to Gov. Roy Barnes. <br> <br> The bill drew opposition from some who argued that such state mandates drive up the cost of insurance and make it more difficult for employers to share the costs with workers. <br> <br> ``What we&#39;re going to do with mandates is put more people without insurance,&#39;&#39; said Sen. Tommie Williams, R-Lyons. <br> <br> But Sen. Richard Marable, D-Rome, said insurance companies and employers will pay far more for the untreated complications of diabetes than for the cost of providing medicines, supplies and training at the early stages of the disease. <br> <br> ``If you&#39;re saying you&#39;re not going to pay for it now, you&#39;re going to pay for it later if a person is diabetic and doesn&#39;t have the proper treatment,&#39;&#39; he said.