So in my ongoing struggles trying to get a CGM covered by insurance, I happened to stumble across a diabetes management program offered through my husband’s work. Basically I just have to go quarterly, meeting with a diabetes educator, and get my A1c tested (5.0 today! I thought it would be higher), and as part of the program, you get free test strips (so only pay for the quarterly visits), however many your doctor is willing to prescribe! They gave me a OneTouch Verio Flex (and a OneTouch Verio as a backup), as they said OneTouch is what my insurance covers.
The diabetes educator was very kind, recognized I pretty much knew what I needed to be doing, though it was fairly amusing to watch her kind of freak out over a couple things - my long pre-bolus (45 mins) and the fact that I don’t correct lows with a full 15g carbs. I understand she’s worried from a safety perspective, but I reassured her I had tested extensively on these (she didn’t seem too reassured, though, haha).
All that to say, I had no idea this existed, and I’m not sure if it’s just because my husband works for a hospital, or if a lot of employee health care programs have this kind of thing, but it would be worth looking into for newly diagnosed diabetics for sure. It’ll save us ~$70/month based on how much I’ve been testing lately.
Not sure if you have seen these yet. There may be some people who have thousands of tests with it and can personally vouch for it. I have never used that one. I think Sam has used it.
But the Verio didn’t get very favorable ratings in any of these 3:
Not sure how much fighting you’d have to do to get a different meter, but I do think a good meter is absolutely critical. I have tossed a number of crappy ones out. No matter how cheap the strips were, there was no value in them.
I’ve used it a lot. It’s not my favorite. It’s big and clumsy and results aren’t very repeatable, but it’s what my insurance covers so I do use it… it does get the job done. I still keep the compact true metrix meter (which also sucks but at least it’s small and convenient). The flex’s Bluetooth connectivity and OneTouch reveal app are actually kind of cool. I think I object to one-touchs business model more than I actually do their products…
Absolutely, but I’ve been using the ReliOn Prime, which looks like it performed about as well as the OneTouch, and I’ve been getting decent enough results from it, so hopefully it’ll be ok.
i am on Medicare and they pay for One Touch products, test strips and meters. my endo gave me a sample of a few different One Touch meters to try out and wrote a prescription for test strips, 10 per day for a months supply; thats 300 strips/ month and i don’t even have a copay. 100 strips for free just with a prescription. i think that b/c i am on the pump i qualify for so many, though.
Awesome! I asked my doc to prescribe for testing 15ish times a day (I may drown in test strips because I don’t do that EVERY day, but I do test a lot), so we’ll see if it’s truly covering unlimited strips! How do you like the OneTouch (which one do you use)?
@Pianoplayer7008 we use the OneTouch Ultra 2. It is what our insurance covers, and so we use it. It is inferior to other meters we have used, i.e. it requires a lot of blood, the reproduce ability is lower than we would like, but with our insurance, it is cheap and combined with a CGM it gets the job done.
Medicare won’t pay for more than 10 strips/day unless ( and i am not 100% certain about this) your endo write a compelling reason for why you would need to use more than 300 / month
i like One TOuch products a lot. i find them to be very reliable. the Verio tests high, though so i don’t use it at all. and the slim one tests very low. i love the One TOuch Ultra and the Ultra 2 . both excellent and simple. the Ultra 2 has more functions which makes tracking very easy.
I want to tread lightly here because I know a lot of people really struggle with getting enough test strips… but at the same time you should realize that testing 15 times a day early in the honeymoon period is way too much if you’re not having lows and unmanageable unpredictable run-away blood sugars… I’ve myself struggled with tendency toward obsessive compulsive testing… it can easily become out of balance…
I read somewhere (don’t remember where) that if you’re spending more than an hour a day treating, thinking about, managing etc diabetes then it’s out of balance---- the more I’ve become involved in the doc the more I’ve realized that this balance is just as important-- and sometimes even more difficult-- to maintain as the balance of our blood sugar levels themselves… and it’s certainly something I’ve struggled a lot with myself!
No, I definitely understand that concern. I am at risk of being obsessive about testing; in fact, I think I was a bit obsessive during pregnancy, partially because of the tight restrictions placed on me and the perceived risk to baby should I “screw up.” I don’t test 15x a day every day, though - that’s just some days of late with learning to use Afrezza and also experimenting with some foods (like oatmeal and ice cream!). I generally average 8x a day - before and after meals and before bed. I don’t feel that’s too excessive.
I also have struggled with spending too much time worrying over this disease, and I’m working on that, too.
this is something that i was struggling with for what seems like forever. then i joined this forum and the support i have received is immeasurable. sharing stories, the support, questions answered, etc. all this and so much more has given me hope and a sense of fearlessness and courage; and, because of all of this, because i have seen how strong others can be, knowing i can be strong, too, has allowed me to disconnect from my fear and worry. its an amazing journey. my life is completely different now.
don’t give up on yourself. share your stories and you will never be alone.
For me, I can test up to about 10x/day if I’m trying to correct and have eaten weird foods. I think that having extra strips for those just in case occasions are really good. Recently, I’ve had to change doctors and the current one doesn’t want me to test so frequently, and of the freestyle lite, the insurance company needs pre authorization. All of which is time consuming. I am so relieved that I have extra reserve test strips at home to get me through the back and forth.
In truth, testing up to about 6x daily is not unreasonable for those using insulin or sulfonylurea drugs or anything that stimulates insulin production. If anything, the true “cost” to society for poorly managed diabetes is far more expensive than extra strips that insurance SHOULD cover.
@MaryPat, no, I am not using it. I came across it and wanted to share with the group in case there are those with insurance limitations and this seems like another option. It really favors heavy users. I think that at most I may go through less than 280 strips monthly. We all have those days when we check more frequently. My bad days maybe up to about 10 strips.
