Formulary.... Novolog instead of Humalog

Type 1 & LADA
1

My insurer, Medica, now covers insulin with a max copay of $25 per month. I decided to check it out. Since it has been some time since I’ve bought insulin in the US, I got new prescriptions for Levemir and Humalog. The Levemir was covered 100%! Great news there.

However, they didn’t fill the Humalog because it isn’t on the formulary anymore… Novolog is as close as it gets. (Or Fiasp, which I’m not interested in at this point). My doctor’s office asked if I want a prescription for novolog instead, so I agreed. I’ve never taken novolog before.

  1. I assume they are mostly interchangeable. Anyone see much difference when taking the two?

  2. How easy is it to petition for Humalog over novolog with a case like this? I think express scripts is the PBM for Medica

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I have used both and like novolog slightly better. Seems to kick in a few minutes faster than humalog. However if my insurance changed to humalog, it would be minor impact for me. I have been switched several times.

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For me Humalog and Novalog are interchangeable. If there was a difference, it wasn’t enough for me to notice. I also had to switch from Humalog to Novalog.

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Most people consider it to be completely interchangeable… Some people notice slight differences… seemed like humalog has slightly slower action and longer duration, but that could be my imagination… I don’t think you’ll have any trouble with one vs the other

You would probably have to have your doctor document poor treatment efficacy with novolog in order for them to consider a formulary exception

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Thanks, that’s exactly the experience I was looking for. I’ll test and document any differences, in case I want to pursue the matter with the insurance company.

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I just liked Humalog a little better. at the time I tried Novolog I remember having a harder time with evening/night dosing and dropping more at night. I don’t think it was a huge issue just something I had to figure out again and didn’t want to.

My endo just had to show I “tried” the Novolog and it didn’t work and she put in the request for the Humalog instead. But since Humalog wasn’t on the formulary I did have to pay $180 for a 3 month supply instead of a $100.

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Well, it happened to me. My hc plan switched to using Express Scripts instead of Caremark formulary, so back to humalog.

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happy to hear that it all worked out for you!! insurance companies and pharmacies can be ridiculous at times.

good going! :+1:

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Actually I like novolog better, but not by much. Also still have Afrezza to deal with the faster carbs.

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