Feel terrible asking, but I need help!

[yeswe'rebothD]

Since someone else offered, I thought I might ask (and someone please just let me know if it's not allowed, and I'll gladly delete my post!).

It's heartbreaking for me to watch my dd test as frequently as she needs because Michigan has a state insurance that covers Diabetes 100% till age 21. However, because of our income (too high), I do not qualify for ANYthing Michigan offers. And even when I did, I only got 50 strips/month covered. I guess the state assumes that if you're an adult, you're type 2.... :mad: Anyhow, so here I am with my pump (using donated supplies that will run out by November at the latest), but with very limited sugar checks. I know it is essential for pumping, but at the very least, I know I'm doing well in the morning w/the pump because I have the dawn phenom.

Point being: Even though our income is "too high" to qualify for anything, I still have enough bills, etc that buying strips out of pocket is out of the question. I just recently bought my first Rx of insulin in... well..... maybe EVER. $170/month! :eek: that doesn't include my synthroid or prinivil....

So I'm sorry if this sounds like a woe-is-me post, but I guess that's just what it is... I wondered if anyone has some extra strips. I have quite a few different brands of meter, so may be able to use almost any strips anyone would have to offer. Also, if you know of any charitable programs that could help, I'd appreciate that info too.

Sorry if I'm being a downer, but I know everyone here would understand the frustration, especially knowing that my dd has all her supplies taken care of. I do have a few on hand right now, dd's Endo office gives me some whenever we go there, but still, that's usually only about 60-80 per each 3-4 month visit interval.

I'm grateful for any help!

[Caynuns mom]

I totally understand the whole insurance crisis. I'm to high of income to get any state help but cant afford the outrageous Insurance cost for my family. Florida does have the highest medical Insurance. I could insure just my son but because its a pre-existing I have to buy the insurance then we cant use it for a full year. I buy everything out of pocket and so far this is what I found
CVS is the least expensive place to buy all of my sons diabetic supplies. Yes even cheaper than Wal-Mart! I use the CVS brand meter and the strips are half or more the price of any other brand (lifestyle, accucheck, etc...) it takes a bit more blood but I'm ok with that. I do buy the alcohol swipes from a medical supply store near me I just told them my situation and they order and sell to me wholesale, sometimes if you open the book of your personal situation to your community they step up to the plate. Just like what your doing now! I think someone on here will be able to help with some spare supplies.

[yeswe'rebothD]

yup, Nikki, that's exactly what I'm dealing with-- if I did decide to buy insurance, I'd be paying the premiums for 6 months with no benefits for the single thing that makes me WANT the insurance... GRRRRRRR!

[Caynuns mom]

yup, Nikki, that's exactly what I'm dealing with-- if I did decide to buy insurance, I'd be paying the premiums for 6 months with no benefits for the single thing that makes me WANT the insurance... GRRRRRRR!

Yeah and if we're paying for all this stuff out of pocket and going broke doing it how can we also pay the insurance for that year or in your case 6mos and not use it? Its a viscious cycle that someone really needs to look into. The state of Florida says that EVERY child will be covered by medical insurance especially those with life threatening diseases. Well HELLO here I am and cant get it done.:mad:

[lisamomtotwins]

I am sorry I am just not understanding, you dont have any medical insurance?

[jpb286]

I hate to say it but this is why we need to move to 100% socialized healthcare, and pay for it with a flat 31% income tax.

[Julie]

Tell me about it. I have a love/hate relationship with Insurance. Can't live with it, can't live without it.

When our son was first dx'd, we made the very hard decision to sell our house, our van, and move into an apartment.

We also made too much to qualify for any assistance.

Course, we made it out to be "ah, we don't need all this space, what do we need 2 vehicles for" etc.

What kind of test strips do you use?

[WestinsMom]

I have to say that I might not be happy living in Michigan, but no matter what, Westin will have his diabetes care covered until he is 21. I guess that is something to consider before saying...one of these days I am moving to X state! Now what he will do after that, it is hard to say! I keep telling him to go into the healthcare field, as I figure he will have insurance for sure in that field. We are self employed and in Michigan that leaves you with Blue Cross Blue Shield as "the insurance of last resort" meaning that have to take you and there is no waiting period. Unfortunately the cost is high. We pay for the cheapest plan. Fortunately the state (Children's Special Health Care) pays for what Blue Cross doesn't and that is most of it. In our state, I wish that MICHILD (another state plan for uninsured children) would cover Westin due to his diabetes (since we don't qualify financially) and then the rest of the family could bank our premiums on a better health plan.

I would love to know what other self employed families with diabetic children do?

[Caynuns mom]

I have to say that I might not be happy living in Michigan, but no matter what, Westin will have his diabetes care covered until he is 21. I guess that is something to consider before saying...one of these days I am moving to X state! Now what he will do after that, it is hard to say! I keep telling him to go into the healthcare field, as I figure he will have insurance for sure in that field. We are self employed and in Michigan that leaves you with Blue Cross Blue Shield as "the insurance of last resort" meaning that have to take you and there is no waiting period. Unfortunately the cost is high. We pay for the cheapest plan. Fortunately the state (Children's Special Health Care) pays for what Blue Cross doesn't and that is most of it. In our state, I wish that MICHILD (another state plan for uninsured children) would cover Westin due to his diabetes (since we don't qualify financially) and then the rest of the family could bank our premiums on a better health plan.

I would love to know what other self employed families with diabetic children do?
I tryed to put just my son on our states insurances and they wont do it I could go on for hours of everything and every way I have tryed to get him covered Its a nightmare! Our state has a new phone system for medicaid and all it is is a big circle of automated menues!!!! The hospitals here actually hire another company to deal with all their medicaid cases because they (the Hospitals) cant get through to the medicaid people they need to speak with---Believe it its true! I dont know what our state has done but it seems as though they have made it so hard and tiring to try to get medicaid that people get frustrated and give up trying that way at the end of the year medicaid can say "look how much money we saved" when they really didnt save anything they just made it impossible for people to get it. I fought it for 1 year and now thats its been a year if they do give me medicaid for my son they dont have to pick up any of the initial medical costs because they are over 1 yr old!

[staciebco]

I would love to know what other self employed families with diabetic children do?

Oh the joys of self-employment! :rolleyes: We participate in a HMO as a Business Group of One. It is slightly (about 10%) more expensive than standard indivdual insurance, but there is no "pre-exsisting condition" clause and they must cover everyone in the family because it is "group insurance" . Also, if the non-owner of company, in our case, me, is an employee of the company the entire premium can be deducted as a business expense.

[deafmack]

I agree with you. The cost of diabetes supplies sucks. I do not understand why you can only get 50 strips per month. Is that all they will cover. One thing I learned from a pharmacist is that the doctor has to say on the prescription for the strips is how many times he wants you to test per day. If your doctor just writes how many strips per month a lot of insurance companies balk. Could you talk with your doctor and tell him because of the pump you need at least 300 strips per moth and you 10 times a day. He needs to write the script to say for example Test 8 times a day.
I do not know if this will help or not, but it is worth a try.
Oh by the way, I am type 2 and those of us who want control test a lot more than once a month. I test 6 to 8 times a day. I know there are those with type 2 who test only once a day or once in a while but I doubt they have good control.

[Nana]

OMG... right now I am really grateful that I live in Slovenia (Europe). We have everything covered here with insurance. Test strips, meter, pump.... Only type 2 patients who don't need insulin can't get a meter and test strips.

[KatelinsMom]

Sadly, to me it seems as though everything is designed for the very very rich or the very very poor. For those of us stuck right in the middle, it is a huge struggle to get needed medical treatment for any costly chronic illness, even with insurance coverage. :(

[yeswe'rebothD]

ok, lots of questions to answer...

I looked around and can't find one of the meters I used to have, so I guess the ones I have are: One Touch (all use the same strips), Ascencia Contour, and TrueTrack (by Good Neighbor Pharmacy).

Westinsmom-- BCBS is who told me there was a waiting period, probably because I haven't been covered for over 2 years. I didn't personally think the cost was all that much, it's just so frustrating to have to deal with a waiting period.

deafmack-- I think around here you'd be in the minority. My Grandmother and my aunt are both type 2 (although I was recently telling my aunt I believe she needs to research whether she may have MODY or LADA), and they might test once or twice daily. When I was getting 50/month, it was while I was on a Health Plan thru the county health dept. I saw the NP there and he sadly let me know that the plan only covered 50 strips/ month. He knew I wanted (and needed) to be testing more. He wanted my pump supplies covered, but the plan didn't cover them. I am not even covered by this plan anymore, due to our increase in income. Still, the increase is not enough for me to buy everything I need out of pocket. Just enough so that we're paying our own bills now instead of relying on assistance... *sigh*

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

[WestinsMom]

When we started on Blue Cross Westin did have other coverage, so you might be right on the waiting period. Didn't really think back that far. How much was the premium, if you don't mind? We currently pay about $360 a month. That is with $1000 a piece deductible, $2000 family and then 70/30. Childrens Special Healthcare ends up paying our deductible at some point in the year, if we haven't paid it ourselves :( I know that doesn't help you, as an adult. Huh?! I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but have you hooked up with any meter reps yet? I can probably get you the name of the area Contour rep. We just met with her a month ago in our support group.

[yeswe'rebothD]

ok, let me see if I can remember correctly... for me alone (since girls are covered and dh doesn't care about his own coverage, *DORK* ;)) it was going to be about $170/month, no dedcutible, I don't remember a lot about the max coverages, etc., except I remember the Rx max was $2500, and the max out of pocket for copays was $2500. I do know that their coverage of diabetes related stuff was higher than other Rx's, but I also would have to pay 100% first and then be reimbursed 70% of that. Ugh! And again, all this after the 6 month waiting period, oy! About the only reason I've been considering it, at this point, is because I do have some *female* issues going on, though I think most of that has to do with my sugars being out of whack. Within 3 weeks of being back on my pump, my cycle was back to almost normal for me, 10 days earlier than I expected. Imagine how improved it would be if I could test like I need to!

anyway, long story.. for a short answer. ha!

[WestinsMom]

Oh, that reminds me, we don't have any RX coverage!

I will see if I can get ahold of any meter reps. Too bad you weren't at our meeting with the Bayer (contour) rep. There were only two of us there and she said take all we want! My husband thought it was Christmas so he grabbed a bag and grabbed a couple of meters and a bunch of other dumb stuff like pens and clocks and crap. Next time I will keep you in mind!

[Carrie]

My MD sees just me and no one else in the family. When our daughter was first diagnosed, I was in there for a sore throat and shared that she had diabetes. He told me anytime I needed Novolog to let him know. He said he ended up throwing it out because it never got used before the expiration date. Check with your doctor or your daughter's endo to see if it's something he could give you. Even if he could only do it every other month. Anything would help!

[yeswe'rebothD]

I should let you all know, I have an MD friend who I'll see next month and she's going to give me some Novo. Her ds is Diabetic too. My only need right now is the strips. Thanks everyone for the support & tips. I am receiving some strips, but any more ideas, etc would be great!

[Carrie]

I found this site the another night while clicking on different diabetes links. Sent it on to another friend (adult) of ours with Type 2 diabetes. Not sure if it is for adult or children.

http://www.charlesray.g12.com/

My thinking in asking the doctor for Novolog was because of the price. If you could get some free insulin, you could put that money towards strips.

[melissabeth]

I think I remember someone posting a while back that there are supplies for sale on ebay for cheaper than normal, so that may be worth checking out.

I have to say, I feel lucky too to be in Europe where healthcare is socialized. It's a little bit of a hassle sometimes, but all strips and pump stuff is 100% free, and as much as we need with no questions asked. I *really* hope it happens soon in the states.

[yeswe'rebothD]

Melissa, the reason those are so cheap on ebay is that they're stolen. Same reason you can find them so cheap at flea markets. I will not buy those.

[BrendaK]

My husband is switching jobs, so we're having to deal with the same BCBS plans in Michigan that you and Westinsmom are too right now.

Here's a thought. If you get the BCBS plan that covers prescriptions, will A Plus Medical Supplies kick in the rest? Have you heard of them? If you have any kind of health insurance, they accept what your plan covers for diabetes supplies and you don't have to pay copays or a deductible. I don't know what their policy would be on preexisting conditions, though. http://www.aplusmedicalsupply.com

Lots of people on this forum have had great experiences with them.

And, by the way, sorry I haven't called you this week. With DH switching jobs starting this week, it's been a little crazy here. :cwds:

[LantusFiend]

If you get a free sample meter, they often send ten strips.

[KatelinsMom]

Melissa, the reason those are so cheap on ebay is that they're stolen. Same reason you can find them so cheap at flea markets. I will not buy those.

All the test strips on e-bay are not necessarily stolen. I do know that some people have sold their own test strips when they have too many and they are going to expire before they could be used up. Others have sold theirs because they got a new glucometer that used different strips, etc. Though I am sure there are probably some people on there selling stolen strips as well. :eek:

[yeswe'rebothD]

thanks for clarifying, Lori. I'm sure the thieves must have seen someone legit selling them and thought, "hey, now there's a money-maker!" I had heard anyway, that theft was why the strips which are OTC, are still usually kept under a lock or behind pharmacy counter.

Brenda-- no problem, hon... if you can't tell, I've been online all week! ;) haha! Good time to call me is early-to-mid afternoon as dh is up and I don't stay online while he's home and awake. He leaves at 3:30 though and usually I'm RIGHT back on! Thanks for the site, I'll look at it soon.

~Iana

[Adinsmom]

I saw this on the ADA website and thought it might help someone.

"S-CHIP provides health insurance coverage to children whose families may have too much income to qualify for Medicaid.

If you or your loved one is unable to see a physician due to the cost of care, there may be a local community health clinic in your area. These clinics generally are free to patients or require a very small fee. Find a clinic in your area."

Here is the link. http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/healthcare/healthinsurance/S-CHIP.jsp

And here is a list of Pharmacuetical companies phone numbers and their programs. http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy-and-legalresources/healthcare/healthinsurance/pharma-table.jsp

Good Luck.

[yeswe'rebothD]

Thank you Shelley- I wrote down some numbers from the Rx assistance list. I'll let you all know what I come up with.

Also, I did go look on ebay-- I have figured out some ways to tell who is definitely legit by reading descriptions and especially if their boxes are the mail-order packages, which are a different color than the retail ones.

Thanks again everyone for your suggestions.

[yeswe'rebothD]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have received a couple of donations of strips and meters (since I didn't have the meters that the strips went with). Thanks so much to the donors! It will have me set up for a couple of months and I hope in the meantime I can invest in some strips too. I feel so blessed to have connected with this community. :)

[Jen Jen]

Just something I wanted to mention, hit your doc up for samples of insulin, and if you can manage to make them feel guilty over any little thing, you can get more out of them;). Today I managed to get eight bottles of insulin out of my doc, cause I told the nurse I was a hard stick for blood draw, it took her four sticks to get me, and out of three of those, she blew out two viens, so I laid it on, I'm set for two months with insulin now.

[Caynuns mom]

I think I remember someone posting a while back that there are supplies for sale on ebay for cheaper than normal, so that may be worth checking out.

I have to say, I feel lucky too to be in Europe where healthcare is socialized. It's a little bit of a hassle sometimes, but all strips and pump stuff is 100% free, and as much as we need with no questions asked. I *really* hope it happens soon in the states.


I said to my Mom & Dad about twenty years ago that the US needs to change to socialized medicine and I still believe it! I'm 100% all for it and cant wait for it to happen!

[wiccanshadows89]

what kind of strips do you use? I HAVE THE SAME PROBLEM. im on about 7 medicines at about $200 each and cant get any of them...i dont have a job and the state wont give me insurance

[Isabelle's Mom]

I *think* that I have a bunch of One-Touch strips at home. I'll check after work and post again.

[Barry]

geeeez..... after reading 4 pages of this, I give up....I'll vote for Hillary just for the insurance.

Dont believe I just typed that

[yeswe'rebothD]

It is just a WEE bit tempting, isn't it, Barry?

Can you say "socialized?" uh-uh! Not for me!! At least I won't be responsible for voting it in....

Many people balk when they hear me say I am virulently opposed to socialized medicine. Many reasons, main one: it won't just stay with medicine; "a little leaven leavens the whole lump."

[yeswe'rebothD]

I *think* that I have a bunch of One-Touch strips at home. I'll check after work and post again.

I'll leave it up to you, but I did receive some more from another poster here, enough to last me a good 1-1/2-2 months. I MAY be getting insurance soon, but I don't know when I'll know (dh might be getting hired in at work, and if he does, we'll have medical immediately upon his hire).

[Isabelle's Mom]

I just PM'd you.

[clb1968]

The http://www.togetherrxaccess.com/home.html card is for people with out insurnace and gives discounts for some prescriptions, they cover One Touch strips, not sure of the discount . I filled 2 prescriptions that would have cost almost $40, an antibiotic and pain pill from a toothache and all I paid for both was a little over $11, so that was a good savings.


Also Abbott has a patient assistance plan for test strips, its a qualify based on income thing and also they have a card that helps with copay cost if you have insurance, 1-866-246-2683 is the number I was given to call on this.

I have insurance now , so have not tried the Abbott copay card yet, but a person on another board was able to qualify for the patient assitance program.