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04-28-2008, 05:47 PM
|  | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | | Any way to reduce cost of Insulin?
Hello. I am on apidra insulin and my Co-pay is 40.20 a bottle. That may not sound like much to you but I am a college student that has just moved out and is very poor. Also like many of you I go thru a few+ every month. Does anyone have any ideas for reducing my costs. Seriously insulin is a large chunk of my monthly income. (I know some have it worse, I am just trying to reduce my costs to live within my budget. And so I can continue to eat. Hey! If I cant eat I dont need much insulin. That solves two problems. Three if you count my weight issue.)
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."  
Omnipod Pump user!
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04-28-2008, 06:23 PM
|  | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: North Texas
Posts: 1,744
| | | I would think that one co-pay should at least cover all the apidra you need in a month. Depending on how the doc writes the scrip . . . I could get one bottle, or 4 bottles on the same co-pay. $40 is sure a high co-pay (mine is $20 and that is higher that some.) I won't be complaining.
You know, when I started on insulin in 1979, the full price was $4 per bottle.
__________________  Type 1 since 1979
Pumping with MM 522 since Feb '08
HbA1c 6.1 - April '08 |
04-28-2008, 06:33 PM
|  | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Royal Oak, Michigan
Posts: 844
| | | You might switch to Humalog or Novalog. My understanding is that Apidra is a tier 3 drug, while the other two are tier 2. This usually means a lower co-pay. Also, perhaps try getting a 3 month supply. It's costs more up front, but less in the long haul.
__________________ 
Type 1 Est.1984
MM 722 and CGMS
Humalog & Symlin
a1c 6.8 (5.12.08) 7.2 (6.26.08) woops!
Vitrectomies 5/07 & 7/07
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04-28-2008, 07:03 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 2 | | Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: NE USA
Posts: 156
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by RobiJo  You might switch to Humalog or Novalog. My understanding is that Apidra is a tier 3 drug, while the other two are tier 2. | Worse comes to worse, you could move to a "regular" insulin, which is not as fast acting as the others but is also human insulin. In many states, that can be gotten even without a script. |
04-28-2008, 07:11 PM
|  | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 8,164
| | | Could you quickly explain your copay methods for prescription drugs? I know some insurance carriers do it on set prices, some do it on set percents. Here's how much insurance works....
Tier 1 (Generics) - $7.50 per month
Tier 2 - $15 per month
Tier 3 - $30 per month
I use to have insurance that if you did their mail order it was a 3 for 2 deal. Pay for 2 months and get 3 months of supplies.
When my brother was on his own insurance he had something like 10%, 20%, 30% depending on the tier.
__________________
●Blue Ash, Ohio Police Dispatcher
●Type 1 diabetic for 25 years (11 months old)
●Animas pumper since December of 2002
~IR 1000 (Dec. 2002-Jan. 2005)
~IR 1200 (Jan. 2005 - ?)
●LifeScan OneTouch UltraSmart Diabetes is an Art, NOT a Science. You must master the control by skills and not by knowledge alone. |
04-28-2008, 07:23 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | | My insurance pays 20% with name brand drugs. $5 generics.
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."
Omnipod Pump user!
|
04-28-2008, 07:31 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | | What does Spencer's pharmacy mean by We accept 80% payment as payment in full* (where allowed.)
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."
Omnipod Pump user!
|
04-28-2008, 07:43 PM
| | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 8,164
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Spbeyond My insurance pays 20% with name brand drugs. $5 generics. | If they pay 20% then I'd love to know why you are getting hit with $40 a bottle. That would mean a bottle would be $200 each and the last time I checked it was around $115 at the high end. Quote:
Originally Posted by Spbeyond What does Spencer's pharmacy mean by We accept 80% payment as payment in full* (where allowed.) | Alot of places mark the item up so much that they take what the insurance pays as 100% in full. That is one area where you can tell if they are ripping people off with drug pricing since they can throw the 20% you pay away.
__________________
●Blue Ash, Ohio Police Dispatcher
●Type 1 diabetic for 25 years (11 months old)
●Animas pumper since December of 2002
~IR 1000 (Dec. 2002-Jan. 2005)
~IR 1200 (Jan. 2005 - ?)
●LifeScan OneTouch UltraSmart Diabetes is an Art, NOT a Science. You must master the control by skills and not by knowledge alone. |
04-28-2008, 07:50 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | | Yeah so does that mean if I order thru Spencers I wouldn't pay anything???
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."
Omnipod Pump user!
|
04-28-2008, 07:58 PM
| | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 8,164
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Spbeyond Yeah so does that mean if I order thru Spencers I wouldn't pay anything??? | If it's allowed in Utah yes. The reason the "where allowed" is there because technically it shows an insurance scam. If it costs the company $80 for the vial of insulin and they want to make a $20 "reseller" fee on it they would need to charge $100. However, they have two options, sell it at $100 and take your $20 (20%) and then charge the insurance the other $80 (80%). However, if they are waving that 20% you would owe, then they would charge $125. That makes it so when they take their 80% as full, they still get their $100. That's essentially ripping the insurance company off and I believe in some states now banned.
__________________
●Blue Ash, Ohio Police Dispatcher
●Type 1 diabetic for 25 years (11 months old)
●Animas pumper since December of 2002
~IR 1000 (Dec. 2002-Jan. 2005)
~IR 1200 (Jan. 2005 - ?)
●LifeScan OneTouch UltraSmart Diabetes is an Art, NOT a Science. You must master the control by skills and not by knowledge alone. |
04-28-2008, 08:01 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | | I mean focus pharmacy. I dont know where I got spencers.
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."
Omnipod Pump user!
|
04-28-2008, 08:05 PM
| | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cincinnati, OH
Posts: 8,164
| | Quote:
Originally Posted by Spbeyond I mean focus pharmacy. I dont know where I got spencers. | Call them up and ask them. Give them your insurance info and see what they have to say.
__________________
●Blue Ash, Ohio Police Dispatcher
●Type 1 diabetic for 25 years (11 months old)
●Animas pumper since December of 2002
~IR 1000 (Dec. 2002-Jan. 2005)
~IR 1200 (Jan. 2005 - ?)
●LifeScan OneTouch UltraSmart Diabetes is an Art, NOT a Science. You must master the control by skills and not by knowledge alone. |
04-28-2008, 08:09 PM
|  | Super Moderator
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Northern California
Posts: 6,006
| | | There are several people here that use Focus Pharmacy and have had good luck. I hope you do too.
Can you get a three month supply through a mail in with one co-pay?
__________________  Nancy Despite the high cost of living, it remains popular. diagnosed type 1 October 1986
currently using Medtronic MiniMed
paradigm 715 CLEAR  |
04-28-2008, 08:10 PM
| | Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: logan, UT
Posts: 143
| | It would releave alot of pressure on me. And stress. And hunger  Not to complain.
__________________
In times of hardship I always remember the words of comfort my father gave me when I was diagnosed with diabetes. " Well In the grand scheme of things you are not important anyway."
Omnipod Pump user!
|
04-29-2008, 06:38 AM
| | Senior Member
I am a: Type 1 | | Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rhode Island
Posts: 4,396
| | | I use Focus Pharmacy, but only for pump supplies & test strips. They accept the 80% payment in full leaving me without any co-pays. However, my insurance company (United) requires me to purchase my insulin or other prescriptions through Medco or my local pharmacy. Fortunately for me, United dropped the co-pay on my Novolog to ZERO, so I get 2 vials a month for FREE!
I have several friends that purchase their insulins at Walmart because it's much cheaper, so you may want to look into that also.
Karen |
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