@Marie I don’t know whether there’s a significant difference in the cost of pumps, but imagine it’s so. I’ve only had the Dash pump. I’m sure there are others with more experience here on FUD that can advise. With the variations in insurances, formularies, etc., I’m sure costs vary substantially from person to person, insurance to insurance, manufacturer, and resellers/pharmacies for the same item.
I count myself fortunate to have what I’ve come to understand is very good medical coverage (Medicare and TFL-retired military). While the rules are still maddening, they’re apparently no worse than most and one of the more comprehensive coverages, and I pay minimal for it (the government recanted it being “free” years ago); but “free” meant service in one war, two “conflicts”, people firing weapons in my direction, numerous family separations, and a few friends lost along the way.
I think @jbowler has the right advice on calling and his info/approach seems spot on., Give it a shot, it may result in someone feeling empowered taking action to help you out! Prices for Medicare Advantage shouldn’t change mid-year!
I think our countries medical system need a great deal of change to be equitable and fair. I’m not sure what the solution is, but “free market” self-governance is not working. I’m sorry you’re going thru what you are and hope there’s resolution that meets your and your husband’s needs…
@larry-butler Thanks for mentioning that. When I turned 65 and started Medicare, the Insulet customer care team helped me find a Part D pharmacy plan that would cover pods. There is also this Insulet web page with relevant info:
Insulet made a business decision to have pods covered as a pharmacy benefit. Unfortunately for them and us, pharmacy coverage results in higher out of pocket costs for those on Medicare compared to a DME pump such as Tandem or Medtronic. That donut hole is huge, it seems like I am always stuck in it. My recollection is the Dash and Om5 pods are priced the same with equal copays.
Once an “almost tubeless” alternative like Tandem Mobi comes on the market as a DME pump I expect to switch away from pods, partially from a cost savings reason and partially to get better absorption.
I am so sorry to hear this. I live in Canada, where some provinces get pump coverage (where I am in Ontario it’s $2,400 for the full year). I like the Omnipod (Eros) system - and that’s $300/month - so seeing what you pay for a 3 month supply of the Dash - to me seems like a slice of heaven! Any chance you could go onto a tubed pump instead. I play around with whatever lands on my doorstep (been a diabetic most of my life - so used to this). Just a suggestion. And I know that when I do take a break from pumping, I can attain a pretty good A1c similar to pump along side of a CGM (Libre2 is the least expensive out of pocket for me in Canada) and as a background insulin (our basal portion) I find the once a day Tresiba the cat’s meow for keeping me in a good BG zone as well as Time in Range (I try to stay between 80 - 180 - but occasionally misjudge that slice of sweetness - and am above for perhaps 5-10% - which is pretty good in my books as someone who for the first 40+ years never really knew what the fork my levels were (urine isn’t the most accurate way but was all many of us had).
I’m the same as you John - anxiously awaiting the Tandem Mobi (and absorption compared to Omnipod) . Now whether it gets approved in Canada is the other thing, but love drooling at the technology that other countries have for T1D’s that I always hope will be accessible for all one day before I kick the bucket as a advocate - no matter what their financial situation is.
I picked up my $525 pod refill, and it was only for 30 pods, not the starter kit. I guess I’m in the donut hole - nobody I’ve talked to can tell me for sure, or how long my co-pay will be higher (or even if it will ever go back down). I’ll give it three months - if my next refill costs $525, I’ll go back to injections.
I’ve got several OmniPod 5s I’d donate to you if you could send me your address. They were just falling off me at work and I switched back to the Tandem Tslim and haven’t had any problems since. Let me know
Hey - did you ever get any news back from your insurance provider. I don’t have insurance here in Canada - so for 3 months supply of the pods that you got - that’s a pretty sweet deal - since I’m paying for the Eros pods (yeah - still using those with a separate clunky PDM but it works) - here in Canada it’s $290/month - and only get $2400 a year for pump supplies - so it’s a more expensive pump system to use - but I love being tubeless - but can fall back on a pretty banged up - but workable MM 670G pump - or go onto MDI. I’ve been at this lazy pancreas club crap now for awhile since the 1960’s. I’m still surprised I’m still here and complaining - since I was told as a teen after DKA (coma for 3 days) - I’d kick the bucket at 40. Bite me doctors - many of us have proven you wrong - but at high price if we don’t have insurance/socialised coverage.
It turned out that $524 was not for the starter kit, but for 30 pods. I spoke to Member Services at Kaiser and my Endo, and neither could tell me if this price was because my yearly benefits ran out or not. I have 10 pods left before I order another refill, but as I told my Endo, if the next refill costs more than $300, I won’t be continuing with the pod. Too much money for me.
Also - 2 1/2 months ago, I was sent a replacement controller for my pods. I carefully duplicated the settings from my old one, and went on vacation. I was awakened every single nigh for 2 weeks with lows (remember - the pod controller only alarms at 50) and finally called my Endo for advice. She put me in touch with the person who helped me do my original controller setup, and she verified that all my settings were as they should have been. Unfortunately, when switching to a new controller, none of the ‘learned’ settings transfer, so I just had to let the new one ‘learn’ again. Two months later, I can finally get through the night without a low. Pretty low tech, if you ask me. Oh yeah - I have an iPhone, so no help there (still).
I was also dx in 1960s and share your comments. But it seems they didn’t take into consideration of modern technology, in the tech and medical fields. My first year was a single injection Lente, managed by non-endo pediatrician.
I recall playing the ping pong video game hooked up to our B&W TV. No cable, no color, boring soap operas that my Mom loved to watch while caring for me and 7 siblings watching Captain Kangaroo.
They’ll likely update it, don’t you think? Iron out some of the glitches. Do have a G7 myself, haven’t tried it yet. Think it’s likely better to wait 6-months for the 2nd version.
@Shecamp I was advised Dexcom addressed the G7 connectivity issue in their Q3 earnings call with analysts. One of Dexcom’s COO responses included this:
Jake Leach – Chief Operating Officer
“Yeah. Thanks for the question, Jeff. So yeah, as we continually scale the G7 platform, we’ve actually made several enhancements to the product, both on the software side, but also on the hardware side. And so, we actually recently made an update to the Bluetooth capability on the product, both increasing the frequency that it can reconnect to a device, as well as the performance of the Bluetooth radio itself.“
Thanks for that Tom, As someone who worked in R&D product development it amazes me that software and hardware products are often released as Beta and not adequately tested. We the consumers are the Beta testers, but the manufacturers don’t allow for easy reports by us.
Thank you Tom! Appreciate this very much. As mentioned earlier, I actually do have a G7 but decided not to use it quite yet. Hope the one I received about a week ago has the enhanced Bluetooth. Don’t have any help with this yet - am starting on the Pump Program in Alberta on December 5. Got lots of reading to do!
@Shecamp There is supposed to be someway to tell (undelining of one of the numbers on the box, I think; don’t recall which). I think I saw it on JDRF forum last night!
@CarlosLuis Agree completely! The whole Alpha, Beta testing seems suspect with some, if not most! That said, software and hardware bloat has made testing against all comers/environments impossible, but there needs to be some minimal required!
@Shecamp I was afraid of that, the reference is actually right here on FUD by @bkh, see his comment at: Dexcom g7 newness frustration - #27 by FatCatAnna
What makes it worse, I commented on it here on FUD! (I’m putting it off on old age creeping in and I’m getting forgetful!)
Nah. That’s not forgetfulness. As diabetics we have so much to keep track of every single day. Always understand why this world has been so hard to keep track of everything now. All the political going-ons, all the different products that are introduced so fast. It’s hard for anyone to keep track of everything in the world. One thing I’m really happy about is that Team Canada’s women’s tennis won the Billie Jean King Cup in Spain on the weekend!
