Buying Supplies = Stressin Out!!!

[UltiMica06]

SO...I had med. Insurance when I had a job.:D

It was awesome!...only like $25 Co-Pay for Insulin & other supplies $20 or Free.

I got Laid Off in Feb. 2008 since then:( ..I been having to pay "out-of-pocket":(

Since I am on UnEmployment Checks & getting these checks at Half of what I use to make...Thus struggling to have extra Money to buy Insulin which is $150 for a box of Novolog & Levimeir Flex Pens.
And spending an average of $35 for a box of Needles & $52 for a box of 100 Test Strips almost every month...

Really stressin me OUT!........almost makes me Depressed and wonder how I can pay all this **** for supplies!

Luckily someone told me about the Assist. Program for Insulin...Hope I qualify...

Does anyone else Expereince this??????

[sugardumplin]

if you really get depserate, i hear that regular insulin needles is cheaper...than the pens. and u may have to use a cheaper BG testing machine. I am assuming u are already doing that.

sorry to hear for your troubles.

[inkvisitor]

Yeah, Walgreens sells syringes for about $15/100. And if you reuse like me, they last forever..

The insulin and test strips are killers...the insulins I use run about $90-100/vial so I imagine getting them outside the US or switching to R/NPH might be worth looking in to if you can't get it by qualifying for the assistance programs.

Like mentioned above, generic meters/strips are less money, too.

I know it must be frustrating to be unemployed and in such a terrible economic time - I hope something comes along soon for you!

[56sushi]

My son also has no insurance. Things he has done that have helped:
BUGGED the dr. for every assistance program available for both treatment and supplies. Non profit hospitals and clinics must provide some form of assistance to low income to qualify for non-profit status
Volunteered for a study through the JDRF. They are so eager to keep you in the study they give you stuff.
We have told everyone we know that he is diabetic. People have given us test strips when they have switched meters, alcohol pads and other supplies. Reach out. People will help you.
I buy every good quality meter I can get a rebate on (so its free) when he is out of strips, I have bought them on ebay. Watch the seller's rating and the expiration date on the strips. People told me this was risky but we have never had a bad experience. Sometimes people simply sell their excess strips when they switch meters.
He tried a cheap Wal-Mart meter but it was not reliable.

[poodlebone]

I didn't have insurance for the first 11 years of my life with Type 1. I was diagnosed at age 19 and my father's insurance stopped covering me after age 18. I was going to school full time and my university offered nothing. At the time I was only on two shots of NPH + R daily. I reused syringes until they hurt and I stopped testing my BG. I don't recommend doing that last thing!!

When I finally did get insurance it had no prescription coverage and I was still paying for everything. When I got my first A1c after finally seeing a doctor (it was over 15!!!) I knew I had to make changes. I really wanted to use a pen but the cartridges cost so much more than vials. My pens weren't disposable, you just changed the cartridge. I'd buy a box of cartridges and then just refill them over & over from vials (using a 100 unit syringe). Much cheaper, and I still had the convenience of pens. I only did that for short acting, since I didn't care about using a vial & syringe at home for long acting in the morning & evening.

I know that Freestyle has a patient assitance program for strips. I know other companies (strips + insulin) also have some programs but I don't recall which ones. I've seen coupons for a free box of Humalog pens in various magazines recently. You will need a new doctor's prescription to use it.

[CountYourselfIn]

In Feb 09 the company I was working for packed and moved to Dublin overnight, leaving me jobless, and insuranceless.

First thing I did, before I even set up EI, was hook up Blue Cross. Costs like $75 a month, but covers 80% of my $300 a month in ****.

Spent $175 at the pharmacy today. :(

I definitely feel you.

[notme]

Breaks my heart to read all of this. How can we let people do without diabetes supplies in this country? Boggles my mind.

[Jae]

I have never had insurance. When I was told I was diabetic they rattled off no potatoes, bread, rice, white stuff and wrote me a script for metformin. A meter was never mentioned. I begin to call my friends and ask about all of this only to have one friend give me a meter and strips until I could contact the doctor again and have him write me a script for a FREE meter.

Now I buy my test supplies off Ebay but in the last year those have doubled in price as well. Now the shipping has gone up to. In the beginning I was buying 51 test strips for about $5.00 now they want 9.95 plus shipping

You might look around and see if you can find a church in your area that can help you. My church runs a Diabetic blood pressure clinic twice a month for people who cannot afford what they need.

I pray for each and every one of us every day.
If you have no insurance and no money they won't help you until it's critical at the hospitals.
It's a d%^&mn Shame and costs so much more to remove someone's foot then to treat an infected toe!

[PrettynPurple]

there are strip companies that will enroll you in a program to help with teh cost of strips (promise puts $50 towards the cost of strips, you pay a minimun of $15 for 100, I know another DF member that gets 200 strips for $15 with freestyle promise program), Freestyle promise is one of them, there's another one, can't think of which meter, it might be for one touch but you can search the website.

[Mindstorm]

Yes indeed I have found out recently what a horrible time it would be without health insurance as a Type I!

I had to go off of my parents health insurance when I dropped out of grad school (no worries I'm happy with where my life is going now and start doing what I've always dreamed of doing in a couple months!). I signed onto Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC and am paying $327 every month just for basic health insurance ($1000 deductible, 100% coverage after deductible is met). With that I pay about $5 for 200 strips and $65 for 4 vials of humalog insulin. They only covered 1/3 the cost of my pump supplies but the company I order from has still not charged me for the difference for what insurance didn't cover (3 months of supplies came out to like $361 after they covered ~30%).

My insurance premiums are nearly double what a "normal" person (who's normal these days anyway? all our doctors throw meds at us like candy :P) would pay. I was lucky to have been able to save up a decent amount of money before I got laid off from my internship (I was hoping to continue to work as a part-time civil engineer for this company but no luck :( ). I have budgeted as carefully as possible and diabetes supplies, insulin, and insurance still make up 50% of my monthly expenses! There's really no good fallback for most of us because to qualify for medicaid coverage you REALLY have to be destitute! My suggestion to you is just to hang on and apply for every assistance program you can find!

The insurance & medical industry ignore us almost wholesale if you don't have insurance, which is absolute ****! Also if it hasn't been more than sixty days since you were on your old insurance, you may be able to go onto a high-premium plan like I am on depending on the state in which you live. In NC I think BCBS has to offer me some sort of healthcare plan if I'm willing to pay for it. I've been on my parents' insurance forever so they accepted me immediately with an online application without further review and just offered me a really high monthly premium. It may not be worth it in the end for you depending on how many medications/scripts you have but it was definitely worth it for me! I would have been spending about $1000/mo without insurance to get the supplies I use, but including insurance and all my copays I only pay about $600-700 each month.

It's terrible if you don't have employer subsidized (or employer provided) health insurance, so I recommend you start looking for jobs (anything) which will offer you health insurance benefits after a certain period (many companies that aren't run by jerks will offer a health insurance plan after 3 months of full time hourly employment, along with other benefits!). It will be difficult landing such a job in these tough times, but it's tougher still to find white-collar jobs out there with corporations trying to keep their profit margins intact! Best of luck to you, and keep scrimping and saving everything you can!

Also, depending how young you are, look for a local pediatric diabetes clinic. I go to lennox baker (part of Duke Hospital at Duke University) and they will throw free meters and supplies at me like crazy if I am in need. You may need to sign on as a patient, but they're bound to try to help you in some way. They gave me a free meter when I was first diagnosed and have offered to give me a free meter with some free supplies almost every time I have visited! They get this stuff for free from pharma companies and they pay for some of it themselves because they want to give it away. Just ask around! And yes I am 23 and I still go to a pediatric diabetes clinic. They're wonderful people and they don't have an issue with me going there (what's in a name? they're just doctors), and in fact they asked me to stay keep going there for my quarterly checkups until I find something just as good or better!

Oh man! tl;dr! Sorry about all the words, but I hope this information proves somewhat useful to you!

[foxl]

I recently switched insurance to my workplace, as my DH was laid off. Okay I am a T2, so nothing near the expenses of syringes, etc.

BUT I called in what I thought was my last refill on my 4prescriptons (including strips) on this month.

Well, well ... I got to pick it up and discover the cost has DOUBLED over last time? from $78 to $170, for ONE MONTH?

Because the pharmacy switched me over to my new insurer ... who I guess MORE strongly prefers that I use express mail order BARF. I HATE THOSE PEOPLE at that place. They run EVERYTHING. But looks like at those costs I am stuck using them.

They also sent DH a letter indicating that his current BP med is NOT in their formulary. WHY do these !W#$~!@$~ bast#@d$ who never evaluate our medical status, get to dictate what our MD prescribes for us? UGH.

Vent over! Vent over! Okay! (As Dr. Bronner's soaps says).

[Vicki NC]

...
If you have no insurance and no money they won't help you until it's critical at the hospitals.
It's a d%^&mn Shame and costs so much more to remove someone's foot then to treat an infected toe!


It's embarrassing that we can't handle this in our country. If those who pay tons of money monthly to insurance were to pay into a single payer insurance program (probably at a much lower fee), and everyone contributed through tax money, people would be able to see a doctor when needed, and get needed meds. For the life of me, I can't understand why this isn't already in effect in a country as wonderful as the USA.

[Mindstorm]

Agh... I just figured out that 75% coverage of "diabetic supplies" is likely limited to needles, lancets, and testing strips, though my plan already covers my prescription diabetic supplies. I am trying to figure out why I have to pay almost $500 for pump supplies, and it's because they won't cover it because they seem to be classifying the pump supplies as "medical equipment" (which must be paid up to the value of the deductible before coinsurance will apply).

Right now I have less than two months of supplies, have had to take out a gigantic loan from my parents, and am banking on floating on the free 30 day supply of infusion sets (i.e. box of 10) that supposedly comes with the Animas Ping when you trade up from a Deltec Cozmo. Job starts in late July so I have to hold out for at least 4 weeks after that to get paid I think. How did all this money suddenly just vanish into thin air? I think I can stretch it without destroying what precious little I have in savings, but who knows...

[retired60]

It's embarrassing that we can't handle this in our country. If those who pay tons of money monthly to insurance were to pay into a single payer insurance program (probably at a much lower fee), and everyone contributed through tax money, people would be able to see a doctor when needed, and get needed meds. For the life of me, I can't understand why this isn't already in effect in a country as wonderful as the USA. One word LOBBYISTS

[tonymsrad]

Tennesse has a program called coverRx which provides partial coverage for diabetic supplies, testing, insulin. It is a fantastic program. Price for strips per month would be somewhere around$8-15 dependent on income Price for insulin is the same, even if you are on huge doses. Site to apply is:
Cover Tennessee (http://coverrx.com/web/cover_rx.html)

[hardingnerd]

So I think it is slightly rediculous that Obama is giving homeowners 8k for housing, and we can't even help people who's lives can be ruined because they can't afford med, because of the ****ty economy. Just shoot me know.

[foxl]

Nope I gotta agree. However I am neither buying nor trying to sell in this ****ty market.

[UltiMica06]

Wow...didnt know my thread was still alive!...

Update: I got Approved the Assist. Insulin Program!!! :D

I get insulin & needles for Free for a year now!!!...what a relief!!!

[foxl]

Wow...didnt know my thread was still alive!...

Update: I got Approved the Assist. Insulin Program!!! :D

I get insulin & needles for Free for a year now!!!...what a relief!!!

EXCELLENT! Glad to hear they are taking care of ya!

[Mothernature]

This is my biggest fear right now. Dh was laid off last August so this is fresh on my mind. There is also a second fear. His employer pays 100% - co pay ($15 office, $250 ER). I could cause the insurance to become more expensive and the company start charging the employees.

I am a stockpiler and thrifty by nature. I picked up a clearanced Renewe Advance Lancing system and 125 lancets for $6 at one Target . I picked up 200 ct boxes of lancets at Walmart for $5.99 (the 100 ct are $3.xx). Relion lancets work in One touch lancing devices. I plan to stockpile lancets and alcohol pads.

I refill my One Touch lancets as needed because I am out and about a lot. The cap allows me to safely walk around with a used lancet.

One way to combat the cost of uninsured test strips is to work the gift card deals for new and transferred presciptions. Move your prescriptions around to earn $25 gift cards. Hold on to these gift cards and use when necessary. Unfortunately, these gift cards do not apply to insulin nor to pay for prescriptions.

Another thing to consider cost wise is dosage. Instead of purchasing the lowest dosage of a non-insulin medication, ask your dr to double your script and cut the pills in half. Higher dosage usually costs less.

It is a shame that our health care system allows the chronic ill to go without the necessary supplies to take care of oneself. What really angers me to no end is those who are not diabetic and clear the shelves of meters because they make money with a coupon. I am tired of paying for these people through test strip costs.

I saw a man the other day in a wheel chair. He had a large sign asking for donations for food because he is diabetic. That really hit home; almost in tears.

[tk4454]

I go to the state welfare office where all the homeless poeple go, I pull up in my 05 bmw and tell em I dont got any money, I get my stuff pretty cheap there, however i'd rather have insurance. and not have to sit next to the homeless poeple and single moms. kind of depressing....

[retired60]

Wow...didnt know my thread was still alive!...

Update: I got Approved the Assist. Insulin Program!!! :D

I get insulin & needles for Free for a year now!!!...what a relief!!! That is great, and I almost know how you feel. I walk a tightrope every month and year. Being forced out of the workplace, having diabetes, and heart problems I'm uninsurable to buy insurance in the market place. Being in the age group from 55 to 65 is making matters worse and to even top all that my house is paid for and I have a modest income, so nothing is going to be free for me, when my ex company decides to drop their retiree medical which is coming I will be scr.......... There are no assistant plans for people like me. That is the penalty for paying off your mortage and having a little bit of retirement coming in.:mad: :mad: :mad: