Guest guest Posted January 28, 2002 Report Share Posted January 28, 2002 Sandy, My doctor has changed my prescription to 3x also recently. He said that since I am only on Glucophage, he could only prescribe 3x a day at most. If you are on insulin or on meds that stimulate insulin production you should ask your doctor to allow you between 4-6x a day. Jim Date: Mon, 28 Jan 2002 14:49:37 -0600 Subject: RE: Thanks to all I was disgusted to see that the last time I got my strips -- my insurance pays for them -- the doctor had stipulated " up to 3 times a day " . In other words, if I test more and run out, I'll have to pay :-( Sandy ------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 My insurance works the same way...I have to pay upfront and then submit receipts and I get reimbursed. What I do is put it on my Visa and mail off the receipts immediately. If I'm lucky (and they're efficient) the insurance check comes just about the time the Visa bill comes, smile. Vicki << very lucky. i'm considering borrowing the money to stockpile strips and needles (and get the 75% back from the company insurance). having to pay for the supplies up front is difficult when you don't have much money, and i'm sure it's a deterrant for many diabetics, since it's harder to find the $100 for a box of strips than $25 if insurance was taken off at the pharmacy. >> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 > Yes, diabetes is an expensive disease. However, if it's not well controlled, > it can be even more expensive in terms of hospitalization and charges > connected with poor control. I think it's very shortsighted of the insurance > companies to not allow adequate budget for test strips. $200 a year is > laughable. Could you try writing a letter to this effect to the insurance > company? actually, in ontario, were i to be hospitalized, i wouldn't have to pay for it. that would be covered by the ontario health insurance plan, but needles and test strips are impossible (or next to, as my mom knows from her clients - she's a palliative home care case manager) to get from the province. it's especially hard since i'm a working university student. it's harder and harder for me to work the same hours since my school work load is getting heavier as the term goes on, and i'm feeling like i'm buring out. > BTW, this is one of the reasons I'm NOT going to retire in December when I'm > 65...don't want to lose my excellent medical coverage, which includes 90% > coverage on diabetic supplies with no limit. Vicki very lucky. i'm considering borrowing the money to stockpile strips and needles (and get the 75% back from the company insurance). having to pay for the supplies up front is difficult when you don't have much money, and i'm sure it's a deterrant for many diabetics, since it's harder to find the $100 for a box of strips than $25 if insurance was taken off at the pharmacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 Re: prescribe only 3x testing actually, in ontario, were i to be hospitalized, i wouldn't have to pay for it. that would be covered by the ontario health insurance plan, but needles and test strips are impossible (or next to, as my mom knows from her clients - she's a palliative home care case manager) to get from the province. Move to Quebec. I had a prescription for chemostrips from the ER doctor I saw. That day I got to see several physicians and a psychiatric. I got prescribed the chemo strips, metformin(glucophage generic) and trazadone. I went to the pharmacy. I got the metformin, the trazadon, 50 test strips, a meter with pen and ten lancets..total cost due to Quebec health coverage for those who don't have coverage through work.....17$ Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 What they don't seem to realize is that the testing although an expense, is less costly then the complications that will result from an uncontrolled diabetic. We can't control what we don't know. At the Save-On pharmacy local to me in Southern California, the retail price is about $69 US for box of 100 test strips. That is about $110 CA. After insurance coverage, I usually have to pay them about $25 US. Does anybody know of a more inexpensive way to purchase test strips via the internet? And would they accept insurance coverage? Jim Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:42:32 -0000 Subject: Re: prescribe only 3x testing the doctors around here don't precribe the test strips (ottawa, canada), instead i have to pay for mine up front and then send in the receipt and paperwork to the insurance company. at the moment i've got 75% coverage with my work, but i may be losing that soon. i called my university insurance company to check about my coverage, and was told that i get 80% off for my insulin, up to $2000/yr. i only get 80% off test strips and needles, up to a whopping *$200* a year. each strip costs a dollar, and i have to test 4 times or so a day - so the insurance will barely cover 2 months of test strips, not including needles. i think i can get another $500 coverage through the canadian diabetes association, but figuring on testing 4 times a day, 365 days a year, is $1460/year in strips alone. i'm pissed. _________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 29, 2002 Report Share Posted January 29, 2002 What they don't seem to realize is that the testing although an expense, is less costly then the complications that will result from an uncontrolled diabetic. We can't control what we don't know. At the Save-On pharmacy local to me in Southern California, the retail price is about $69 US for box of 100 test strips. That is about $110 CA. After insurance coverage, I usually have to pay them about $25 US. Does anybody know of a more inexpensive way to purchase test strips via the internet? And would they accept insurance coverage? Jim Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:42:32 -0000 Subject: Re: prescribe only 3x testing the doctors around here don't precribe the test strips (ottawa, canada), instead i have to pay for mine up front and then send in the receipt and paperwork to the insurance company. at the moment i've got 75% coverage with my work, but i may be losing that soon. i called my university insurance company to check about my coverage, and was told that i get 80% off for my insulin, up to $2000/yr. i only get 80% off test strips and needles, up to a whopping *$200* a year. each strip costs a dollar, and i have to test 4 times or so a day - so the insurance will barely cover 2 months of test strips, not including needles. i think i can get another $500 coverage through the canadian diabetes association, but figuring on testing 4 times a day, 365 days a year, is $1460/year in strips alone. i'm pissed. _________________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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