[chucklejeff]

Having just found Relion test strips and verifying that they yield similar readings at less than half the price of my one-touch strips, I thought it would be a win-win for me and the insurance company to head in that direction. My insurance company told me that this product is non-formulary. The person I spoke with said it must be too new to have been evaluated but I'm seeing posts from 2007 about the strips.

The only reason I could come up with for an insurance company dragging their feet on money savings is that they wouldn't really be saving money. Could there be some kick-back that the major diabetes players are giving some insurance companies to keep them from approving the low-end of the cost spectrum?

I guess I should first ask if these strips are considered "formulary" by any other insurance companies? (Mine is Blue Cross.)

[Joeprep4820]

I have BCBS as well, and use OneTouch Advantage and I pay $20 for a 3 months' supply. I've not heard of the Walmart brand meter since coming to this site, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with it being generic or being a Walmart product.

[Grunch]

Originally Posted by chucklejeff

Could there be some kick-back that the major diabetes players are giving some insurance companies to keep them from approving the low-end of the cost spectrum?

Of course, that's how everything works in that business. The insurance companies always pay much less than what an uninsured person pays for the same drug/treatment/surgery/doctor appointment...

It's not fair but these corporations run your country and they don't care about what's fair. Might makes right and in capitalism $$$ = might.

[It Ain't Over]

For those using Minimed pumps, check with Medtronics. They are doing test strips and I am able to get them there with no copayment. Depends on the plan you have of course.

[notme]

Depending on what you pay for a co-pay on strips, you may still pay less buying Reli-On rather than making the co-pay. You also won't be limited to the amount you can buy. Insurance!!!

[DannyK]

All I can say it "Thank Goodness" for the Reli-On meter and strips, as someone who doesn't have insurance, it has been a Godsend. What I don't understand, is that so many people refer to Reli-On as "generic". It ranked in the top 5 of Consumer Reports in meters. Just because the meter and strips (and the A1c test) are less expensive, does that mean they are less reliable? I have brought my A1c down to 6.5 from 10.5 relying on my Wal-Mart supplies and paying out of pocket. More expensive doesn't necessarily mean "mo better".

[Joeprep4820]

Originally Posted by DannyK

All I can say it "Thank Goodness" for the Reli-On meter and strips, as someone who doesn't have insurance, it has been a Godsend. What I don't understand, is that so many people refer to Reli-On as "generic". It ranked in the top 5 of Consumer Reports in meters. Just because the meter and strips (and the A1c test) are less expensive, does that mean they are less reliable? I have brought my A1c down to 6.5 from 10.5 relying on my Wal-Mart supplies and paying out of pocket. More expensive doesn't necessarily mean "mo better".

Generic doesn't mean "not as good", neither does "less expensive", and "less known" most certainly doesn't give doubt to its effectiveness either.

[DannyK]

My point exactly.......

[chucklejeff]

My personal issue is that my insurance this year went from no deductable to a $3000 deductable. Copays are not an issue until I hit $3000, so I would like to get twice as much for my $.

But my frustration is in seeing that, if everything were as it appears, the insurance industry would be JUMPING for the Relion cheaper products because it would mean that they would be paying out LESS MONEY IN CLAIMS. There is obviously SOMETHING going on - collusion, kickbacks, who knows what else - that is keeping them from doing what would make sense. Please let me know if I am missing something here. I am thinking that our only hope is insurance reform that actually opens up the insurance industry to these types of investigations. (My understanding is that they are protected from it under current law.)

[Granny Shanny]

Originally Posted by DannyK

All I can say it "Thank Goodness" for the Reli-On meter and strips, as someone who doesn't have insurance, it has been a Godsend. What I don't understand, is that so many people refer to Reli-On as "generic". It ranked in the top 5 of Consumer Reports in meters. Just because the meter and strips (and the A1c test) are less expensive, does that mean they are less reliable? I have brought my A1c down to 6.5 from 10.5 relying on my Wal-Mart supplies and paying out of pocket. More expensive doesn't necessarily mean "mo better".

If JoePrep would search this very site for ReliOn, he would find 168 threads that refer to this brand. That's how unknown these products are in the world at large. Nor does Consumer Union waste their time on things people have never heard of or cannot purchase anyhow. Their purpose is to put people in touch with the best bang for their buck, nationwide.

No doubt there are people who have never seen the inside of a Walmart, and might not admit it if they had. It burns me up to spend as much as I do with Walmart - we're living down here 200 miles from their international headquarters (Bentonville AR) & it's like there's a superstore in every town and one of their little neighborhood markets on every corner. You can imagine what happens to any mom & pop competitors.

If my cash flow were about 8 or 10 times higher, I wouldn't be shopping their either, but these are desperate times for some of us, and Danny is right about both the reliability of these meters and the rating they got in Consumer Union tests.

It's obscene that insurance companies wouldn't avail themselves of products like these, but again, maybe it's Walmart that won't do business with insurance companies. They run a pretty tight ship. Who knows? What I DO know is that the whole d-mn bunch of them is after as much of my money as they can squeeze out of me, and I must be forever vigilant that there's some small remnant left for us to live on.

[morrisma]

When I was a young lad, generic DID mean not as good.

I worked as an assayist at a major drug lab for six months covering someone's pregnancy leave. The job was mainly testing the company's products by lot to confirm the dosages and availability of active ingredients. But sometimes, we also went out and purchased generics of competing drugs and tested them. In almost all cases, the generics were so poorly made that the product was useless - it stayed in pill form for the entire time of the test while name brand pills dissolved completely in the time allotted.

I specifically remember Tylenol (made by MacNeil back then) was 100% dissolved in under 5 minutes, the first test reading, for every lot we ever tested. Tough competition back then.

I believe that generics are much better today, but I still get that nagging feeling when I remember the generic aspirin and acetaminophen tablets sitting like little stones, unchanged for the entire test. My motto: Trust when you must but test when you can.
Mike

[Joeprep4820]

Originally Posted by Granny Shanny

If JoePrep would search this very site for ReliOn, he would find 168 threads that refer to this brand. That's how unknown these products are in the world at large. Nor does Consumer Union waste their time on things people have never heard of or cannot purchase anyhow. Their purpose is to put people in touch with the best bang for their buck, nationwide.

No doubt there are people who have never seen the inside of a Walmart, and might not admit it if they had. It burns me up to spend as much as I do with Walmart - we're living down here 200 miles from their international headquarters (Bentonville AR) & it's like there's a superstore in every town and one of their little neighborhood markets on every corner. You can imagine what happens to any mom & pop competitors.

If my cash flow were about 8 or 10 times higher, I wouldn't be shopping their either, but these are desperate times for some of us, and Danny is right about both the reliability of these meters and the rating they got in Consumer Union tests.

It's obscene that insurance companies wouldn't avail themselves of products like these, but again, maybe it's Walmart that won't do business with insurance companies. They run a pretty tight ship. Who knows? What I DO know is that the whole d-mn bunch of them is after as much of my money as they can squeeze out of me, and I must be forever vigilant that there's some small remnant left for us to live on.

If there were more Walmarts around here, I'd frequent them when needed. There really isn't any space for a Walmart in downtown Washington, so wasting the time to go out to one would be somewhat pointless when there are other places nearby. I never said anything bad about the Relion meter. I really don't go shopping for other meters either. I find something and stick with it, as I'm doing with the OneTouch. They have been great meters over the past 12 years I've been using them and I don't intend to stop.

[jenb]

Well, every party needs a wet blanket and I nominate myself. It tried the ReliOn and had terrible results. I found the difference in results between my OneTouch Ultra and the ReliOn to vary more than 30%, especially at higher numbers. To me that just doesn't provide sufficient accuracy to make insulin dose calculations.

I may be the exception, and thank goodness that there is an inexpensive alternative. At this time, however, OneTouch seems the best choice for me, even at the obscene price of those darn strips.

Jen

[Joeprep4820]

Originally Posted by jenb

Well, every party needs a wet blanket and I nominate myself. It tried the ReliOn and had terrible results. I found the difference in results between my OneTouch Ultra and the ReliOn to vary more than 30%, especially at higher numbers. To me that just doesn't provide sufficient accuracy to make insulin dose calculations.

I may be the exception, and thank goodness that there is an inexpensive alternative. At this time, however, OneTouch seems the best choice for me, even at the obscene price of those darn strips.

Jen

Out of curiosity how much are they if not covered by insurance?

[spyderveloce]

Originally Posted by Joeprep4820

Out of curiosity how much are they if not covered by insurance?

My insurance only pays if I get 100 or more. A pack of 50 OneTouch Ultra strips without insurance would cost me $29.95. A pack of 100 with insurance costs me $30. I'm told if I go mail order through the insurances mail order pharmacy I can get them much cheaper for a 90 day supply.

I'd be interested in knowing how much the Reli-On strips are without insurance.