Medicare Required Testing Logs

[Nana215A]

Has anyone else recently received a request via CVS Pharmacies, or any other pharmacy, to fill out and send in a 4 week testing log form that Medicare supposedly is requesting them to submit? This is supposed to be a way for Medicare to figure out whether you are testing too often and using too many strips per script, I am assuming. I'm just not sure if this is legitimately being asked for by Medicare or is this a CVS thing. The logs sheets are to be mailed back to a CVS address in Texas, BTW.

[NoraWI]

Yes, it IS a Medicare thing. I have been filling them out once every 6 months for several years. It is to show Medicare that, indeed, you ARE using as many strips as you claim. What's to keep one for filling them out randomly? Nothing. This last time they requested 6 mos. worth of records, which I provided. It was a bother but I did it. I made an Excel sheet for this purpose and filling it out is not much of a hassle. It is modeled on the WalMart sheet that I used to fill out when I got supplies from them. Now I get strips through Animas along with my pump supplies.

[jenb]

Out of curiosity, do you have to complete a log, or can you print a report from your meter and provide that?

Jen

[Bountyman]

Let me see if I can clarify this a little better. Medicare has a ceiling on how many test strips they will provide per day. For me, type 2 using insulin, it's 3 test strips per day. I do not have to fill out any logs as I'm within their cap. Now, I just got off the phone with Medicare concerning this and the lady told me that if a doctor prescribes more strips than Medicare allows...they will pay for the strips...but you will have to show them a log that you're actually using those strips.

[Nana215A]

Jen -

I was sent about 6 copies of log sheets that have spaces for 4 weeks of logs per sheet. I found it to be a bit weird, though, since I've been testing and receiving test equipment and supplies for almost 2 years and only now am receiving this log request. I usually got my supplies through a medical supply house but recently switched to getting them through my pharmacy. My endo says I can now get away with testing only twice per day but I don't feel "in control" unless I'm testing 3-4 times per day.

[don1942]

Out of curiosity, do you have to complete a log, or can you print a report from your meter and provide that?

Jen

When I was requested to send in my log, I printed out a report from Carelink and it was acceptable. Subsequently, I realized I could get my strips cheaper under my private prescription plan with no limitation or log requirement.

[jenb]

Glad to hear, Don, that your meter-provided reports are acceptable. I would really hate having to do it manually when the information is already available!

Nana - can you download your meter info to your computer and generate reports? Also...in my mind, more frequent testing means better control, so see if you can get your doctor in your court. Twice a day doesn't provide enough information. Proof that you're making good use of your testing is in your great A1C improvement! Great work.

Jen

[art]

My script is 3 times a day and Liberty Medical has asked for 3 month logs for Medicare.

I asked if I could just e-mail them from my phone.
No e-mail.
I wanted to know what century they lived in

Art

[gphx]

I know there's some abuse of Medicare in the reselling of unused strips but this seems like a huge violation of privacy to me. Reselling unused Oxycontin and other drugs is a much bigger problem. Do they ask them to fill out logs to show they've taken all their meds or just diabetics?

[Bountyman]

I know there's some abuse of Medicare in the reselling of unused strips but this seems like a huge violation of privacy to me.

I'm not sure how that's done. Medicare requires that all bottles of test strips come with a manufacture's label that says 'DME/MEDICAL BENEFIT Patient Use Only'. You cannot resell a bottle of test strips that has that on it.

[Moonpie]

I am on medicare. last year I used rite aide & did not get a log request, this year I switched to cvs & I did get an envelope of logs mailed to me, it is no big deal to fill them in, but sometimes, I only test twice a day, & save the strip to test 4 times a day when eating a new food or recipe.

However, for the first 2 months of the year, I pay full price, as I have not hit the deductible, so I am paying out of my own pocket, full price for the test strips, yet they still want the logs.

I think they have different rules for insulin users though. My vials do not have the 'DME/MEDICAL BENEFIT written on them.

[Nana215A]

Sadly, Jen, I happen to be a Mac addict (we use Macintosh computers only) and my One Step Ultra Mini has no software for the Mac mnor do they plan on having it in the near future. I wish it were that easy.

Nan

[Nagshead2100]

They live in the same world as Farm Fresh. I was told they have to have the PAPER Copy of testing on hand in case Medicare checks. Can just see rooms of file cabinets.

[patticakes789]

I use sugarstats.com to log everything simply because I like it better than the gawd awful One Touch software. You can manually log everything or upload from several different meters. I just print out the web logs for my endo - I bet you could do the same for Medicare. if I had to keep paper logs - it would never happen - I'd lose my logs, spill coffee, forget to write things down...Lord knows I am scatter brained as heck!

[Hammer]

Like Bountyman said, Medicare requires you to send in a log to your test strip supplier if you are a type 2 on insulin and you use more than three strips per day. I'd like to know who the idiots are that think that three strips a day for a type 2 on insulin is enough to control your glucose levels, but that's a topic for another time.

I finally got my doctor to prescribe more than three strips per day. He told me that he prescribed three per day because Medicare wouldn't pay for more than that and I told him they would, but I'd need to send in a 30 day log for them. He decided that he'd prescribe 6 strips per day to see if Medicare approved that many and if they did, then the next time he'd prescribe what I really wanted, eight strips per day. I just finished my 30 day log for the 6 strips per day and sent that to the medical supply company, so I should be getting my strips next week.

I create my log the hard way....I scanned the log sheets that the medical supply company sent me into Photoshop, then use Photoshop to enter in all of the readings. I do this because I can use the same log sheets that I scanned in to Photoshop over and over again. By using Photoshop, I can enter in my BG readings and add effects to the text so that it looks really nice.(I use a blue color text and I add an effect that bevels and embosses the text.) Once the log is finished, I print it out and mail it to the medical supplier.