When I think advocate, I think, “Yes, someone who can help take some of this weight off of me. Someone who has the experience and the knowledge to get me through this”.

I remember sharing my experience with the ADA, American Diabetes Association, a few years back when I posted on one of their forums just exactly what it takes to get good life insurance rates when you have type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes. I didn’t post my phone number and didn’t make any attempt to sell myself as the answer. I truly wanted, on such a huge advocacy forum for those with diabetes, to thrown out some useful information that wasn’t available through the ADA.

Well, the response from the ADA was swift, brutal and unpleasant. They practically accused me of crimes against humanity for attempting to use their forum for personal gain. All of this bluster after, as I explained, I just presented the facts of underwriting. No mention of any particular company. No mention of me as the person to call. No mention of my phone number or my website for diabetes life insurance.

To this day the ADA doesn’t provide any useful information on their website about how someone with diabetes can beat the odds and the stigma and get affordable life insurance. Aren’t they supposed to be there to help?

Bottom line. Whether it is the ADA or AARP, there seems to be a definite disconnect between the mission and the reality. Somewhere along the line both of these groups have become self serving behemoths whose main function seems to be ensuring their own financial existence.