Purchasing a Pump Outside of Warranty

Type 1 & LADA
1

Hola,

I’m on the Omnipod, but want to switch to the Tslim for the different set styles and materials, the ability to use basal IQ technology. I have had a VERY rough time dealing with my T1D, and think these things might make a huge difference for me.

I am under Omnipod warranty for another 4 years, so does anyone know–would I have to pay out of pocket to switch to the Tslim? What cost would that be? Would that be just for the pump or the supplies too? I think the supplies would be partially covered as they are now, no?

Thanks,
Desperate Burnt-out T1D :frowning:

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So, you ask an interesting question. You might want to contact Tandem and see what they could offer. There have been times when they would be able to facilitate that switch. It also might be worth checking with your insurance provider. In the worst case (Omniopod and Tandem and your insurance say no) Omnipod should have similar functionality in Q1? of next year.

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I will ask Tandem, I just wondered if anyone has been through this before, maybe knew if it was even possible. I find it so upsetting dealing with insurance and companies and have not much left in me stress handling wise right now. I know the pod IQ is “coming” but things are always slow to get to Canada it seems.

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Yeah, that Canadian part if probably a problem. We do have some knowledgeable Canadians around here, maybe they will be by with more info.

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I would contact Tandem. There are some options. We were in a similar scenario and wound up getting a new Tslim X2 for free because our insurance covers it through pharmacy benefits. But even if that hadn’t been the case, they had a system to essentially lease it. It wasn’t super cheap but it might be possible.

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…and just saw the Canada part. That will be a complication I suspect, unless you also have some kind of private insurance.

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@PP777 - Which province are you in, and do you know if they have a provincial pump program?

I have the email addresses for a couple of Canadian Tandem reps …… I’ve been down the same road.

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BC. Not sure if we have a provincial pump program :woman_shrugging:t3: I’ll look into that.

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There are a couple of forum members from BC who can probably answer Provincial Pump coverage questions. @Jen would know the ins and outs of pump coverage

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You probably already found it by now, but here’s BC’s pump coverage:

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/pharmacare-for-bc-residents/what-we-cover/medical-supplies-coverage/diabetes-supplies/insulin-pumps-insulin-pump-supplies

I’m in Ontario, and my Omnipod warranty, and Ontario’s PDM coverage, expires at the end of this month. I’ve twice asked Omnipod when their closed loop is expected to be available in Canada but haven’t had any reply. I keep wondering if I want to switch to Tandem solely because of Control-IQ. (But tubes!) If I did, and then Omnipod’s closed loop became available before the end of five years, I would have to pay cash to switch back to Omnipod. Five years ago, the cost of a PDM in Ontario was more than $6000, and I doubt it’s dropped since then.

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