Diabetic Supplies

Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

sbwertz

Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
3,649
Location
Phoenix, AZ
Have you noticed the sudden drop in the cost of diabetic supplies? Test strips that used to cost over $50 a box are now going for about $12. Syringes are also cheaper, costing about $12 a hundred. Insulin is still sky high, but at least the cost of supplies is down. My husband is on a DEXCOM contnuous glucose monitor that he wears 24/7. (Medicare finally covers them, thank goodness.) They come with a package of 50 test strips, but sometimes he runs out before he gets the new shipment, so I am going to Sam's Club to get a package to act as a backup if he runs out. I was expecting a box of 50 to cost at least $50 for the Next meter. But Amazon has them for $12.99 prime, so I expect Sam's to be pretty close to that.

Easy Touch strips are less than $9. (That is the one I use. I'm hypoglycemic and test if I'm feeling low.)

Hopefully, insulin will eventually come down, too. He is in the donut hole now, and we are paying through the nose.
 
Signed-In Members Don't See This Ad

TonyL

Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
8,904
Location
Georgia
My son is a type 1 diabetic (since he was 10). Less expensive insulin can be found in Canada..about 60% less. There is absolutely no "cost-push"reason for insulin to be this high. He wears a pump and takes good care of himself - which is a big blessing.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 24, 2006
Messages
8,206
Location
Tellico Plains, Tennessee, USA.
My wife is a type 2 diabetic. She uses two types of insulin in the pens... fortunately for us, we have a supplemental insurance to our medicare that covers the diabetic supplies and doesn't cost us out of pocket.
 

smik

Member
Joined
Apr 12, 2013
Messages
234
Location
Ohio
I've been using Blink Health for heart meds. It saved me money, around 50 on a 90 day supply.
 

OLDMAN5050

Passed Away May 15, 2019
In Memoriam
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
2,112
Location
Unionville, tn, USA.
I have rheumatoid arthritis and was in hospital for 11 days and have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis which is rare and no cure for and now on oxygen. Healthy one day and sick the next. Now I have been prescribed Cimza and the cost is staggering over $1000...each (4 per month) a shot Insurance don't want to pay.. Cant afford it out of pocket What are those of us supposed to do? It is a shame what healthcare cost in this country. I wish there was a book I could read to control this RA and pulmonary fibrosis maybe I could afford a book...
 

sbwertz

Member
Joined
May 11, 2010
Messages
3,649
Location
Phoenix, AZ
I have rheumatoid arthritis and was in hospital for 11 days and have been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis which is rare and no cure for and now on oxygen. Healthy one day and sick the next. Now I have been prescribed Cimza and the cost is staggering over $1000...each (4 per month) a shot Insurance don't want to pay.. Cant afford it out of pocket What are those of us supposed to do? It is a shame what healthcare cost in this country. I wish there was a book I could read to control this RA and pulmonary fibrosis maybe I could afford a book...

I, too, have RA. Fortunately Remicade and methotrexate have kept me in remission for almost 15 years. Medicare covers the Remicade since it it given as an intravenous infusion.

Are you on medicare? If so, DON'T GIVE YOURSELF the shots. Go to the doctor and have them give it because then it comes under your Part B, not Part D, and medicare covers it all.

We discovered that when my husband had a bad MRSA infection last year and had to have daily infusions of a very expensive antibiotic...Daptamycin. They said they could set me up with an at home infusion kit that I could administer every day, but it would cost us about 30,000 dollars for the nine weeks under his part D prescription drug plan. If I took him to an infusion lab every day, medicare covered it all. Needless to say, I can do a LOT of driving for that price.

If you are not on medicare, many of the drug companies will help out with very expensive drugs not covered by insurance.

Check it out here

https://www.cimzia.com/co-pay-program
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom