Pump supplies co-pays...

[Metermaid]

Hi,
I just got my new Minimed 522 in the mail...it will be my first time...I am currently on Lantus and Humalog (well, Novolog, since my insurance has bumped Humalog to Non formulary and I can't afford the high copay). But, after opening the box, and seeing all the necessary pump supplies that I will need monthly, I began to see dollar signs...I have to pay co-pays for all of these necessary supplies?? Infusion sets, reservoirs etc...and will still need to have the other MDI supplies around in case I need to use as back up...this will be a costly thing.
Now I am thinking to cancel this whole deal and not even try the pump. Do you all find it costly? I have Pacificare HMO with a poor plan at that. My copays on Brand name is $35.
How much does one go thru in a month of all that stuff?
Thanks for any help you can give me.:confused:

[kgm0612]

I order all my pump supplies through a mail order pharmacy called "Focus Pharmacy". They accept what my insurance pays (United Healthcare) as full payment leaving me with NO copays at all. Give them a call and ask them if they accept your insurance. They are very nice to deal with and what I love the most about Focus is, a REAL person answers the phone and processes your order. I usually have my supplies within 2 days.

Good Luck!

Karen

[solox316]

Hi there, I sure hope you can make it work to use your new pump. In a perfect world, you would go through a box of 10 reservoirs and a box of 10 infusion sets, assuming you change your infusion site every three days.

I have friends who have reused reservoirs, and used them for 6 days. This is not reccomended though, maybe others on here will chime in on this...

Infusion sets can go 4 days, but again, not reccomended. The risk of infection goes up quickly past the 3 day mark. I am pretty bad about this, and usually wait until my pump screams at me with a low reservoir, which will be 3.5-4 days.

Hopefully that helps with the usage amounts...

Good luck!

[Funnygrl]

Minimed didn't tell you how much ongoing supplies would cost when you ordered?

Honestly, on MDI my monthly co-pays looked like this:
Lantus: $10
Novolog: $10
Strips: $25
Syringes: $10

3 month cost? $165

Pumping, I get my 3 month supply from Liberty, and my 3 month co-pays look like this:
Apidra: $10x3=$30
Reservoirs, strips, IV prep, Tegaderm, infusion sets, lancets= $15

3 month cost? $45

So you may get lucky too.

[notme]

Have you checked with your insurance company to see if your pump supplies are covered under durable medical equipment? MOST people have their supplies covered under this and have no co-pays. However, someone posted this week that Blue Cross/Blue Shield was now making them purchase supplies through their pharmacy and they had to pay the co-pay. Many have the issue of Humalog being non formulary.

I tried to get my supplies through Focus Pharmacy and they are not a contracted provider for my plan.

I found that pumping was not more expensive on my plan. My supplies are covered under durable medical equipment and I didn't have a co-pay until about two years ago. Now my insurance makes me pay 10% of my supply order. I looked for the cheapest contracting provider. Humalog is so far in formulary for me so I don't pay and extra co-pay. When I was on injections, I had to pay for two insulins, and needles. For me, it was a wash.

The extra money if you can pull it off will be worth it. Call your insurance company and make sure you get all the details.

Good Luck!!

[Keezheekoni]

Pumping is more expensive now that my dh's employer changed our insurance plan. All of my supplies are covered under DME, but I have a $500 deductible, so I pay out of pocket for my first three months, which comes to around $487. After that, I have a 20% co-insurance that I have to pay for DME. Way more expensive for me, but worth it in the end. :)

[Metermaid]

Thank you for all the great info...thanks to all who replied!!