New Medtronic Canada deal - Feel majorly scammed by animas at the moment

When you order a Medtronic veo, you get five of the new sensors and the cgms and all related equipment is included. Medtronic also gives you 1 month worth of pump supplies

This is a new promotion. The cost of the cgms and equipment that goes with it uses to be an extra 800$, also you get 5 free sensors
Feel majorly scammed by animas at the moment

 

I am not sure I understand?

You are comparing different pump companies offers?

 

Has the Vibe been released in Canada? It sounds like Medtronic is moving their chess piece to keep their corner of the market with competition.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Animas will be the distributor of dexcom in Canada and the distributor of the vibe (obviously.) (But both are approved by out equivalent to the FDA)

I think they are trying to compete with animas preemptively. But animas has not made any announcements regarding dexcom or the vibe. I got my ping shipped in Aug and was officially trained in Sept.

You have 3 months to return the pump in Ontario, and I need to get in touch with animas and tell them I need to return it. And then just redo everything either to get the veo or the vibe

 

The issue is they sold me a ping knowing the vibe would be approved any day.

I brought up the vibe to the sales rep because of a rumor I heard on this message board that the vibe would be released in Canada soon, and apparently, someone from dexcom mentioned the vibe to a person in the market for the dexcom.

I told the rep that dexcom was mentioning the vibe being on the market soon in response to Canadian inquires, and you could tell the animas sales rep was not cool with that at all.

Based on how the conversation went in retrospect, I think animas reps were being told to keep quiet about the vibe to people ready to go ahead and purchase a ping, because they might hesitate and hold off knowing that the vibe would be a game changer.

 

I don't understand why you are mad at Animas. Animas has no control over Medtronic and vice versa. Pump promotions come and go all the time. It's hard when it comes time to chose your next pump because something new is always coming down the pike and it could be tomorrow or you could end up waiting several years for technology that never comes to pass. In my opinion all you can do is make the best decision based on the offers that are currently on the table.

I'm sorry you're frustrated though.

 

I appreciate your advice. With the way the ADP program works in Ontario, I can technically return the animas at this time, but I really do not want to do that.

MomOfSweetMom is prob right though they are trying to preemptively compete with the vibe

 

Medtronic could be competing with Vibe in Canada. It might coincide with marketing strategy for the States as I know they mentioned upcoming promos are being planned on their blog.

One good thing, these pump companies are competitive so once Dexcom and the Vibe are available and ready for distribution I wouldn't be surprised to see similar promotions being offered by those companies also.

I know it's frustrating. I once got a pump the very same day Medtronic released their next model. At the time my only option would have been to return it and start the process all over with insurance. I did not want to do that either so I totally get it. I think I did eventually upgrade but it was a couple of years later.

 

This is what I would do. I believe that Animas folks are just plain leary of giving out dates anymore as they have been giving false hopes for the past 3 years awaiting these new products. I don't think they are intentionally lying to you. Did we not hear on this board that the Dex was coming in September now that it is approved by Health Canada? Hello, middle of October here.

 

I totally agree that Medtronic is trying to lock in as many customers as possible to their cgm as they know Dexcom is going to be popular. I don't see how Animas is scamming anybody.

We were told that there will be an upgrade offered to Ping owners once the Vibe is finally available in Ontario/Canada, likely $399 or $499. Because of this we didn't delay getting the Ping for our daughter and will pay out of pocket to get the Vibe once it's available.

 

when did you get the ping ? the 399-499 is one thing there is also the cost for the extra cgms equipment which used to be 800$ with medtronic. Also, medtronic gives 5 free sensors.

keep in mind the vibe has no remote

so I would say you are looking at more than 399-499

 

Well, in the US, it probably costs $200 to produce an insulin pump and test it to see if it works properly, according the the FDA regulations and requirements. So, you are getting ripped-off no matter what from these companies, and they probably ARE making a fortune off of you, even with the liabilities and risks involved.

The only exception is hardware breakthroughs (not software) and advancements, such as the Omnipod or the CGM, at this point of time. The pump companies make money off of software upgrades, not hardware upgrades. Medtronic has been pretty smart to be using the same form-factor and hardware, essentially for 13 years with the Paradigm series.

So, are you getting ripped off or scammed?

It depends on how you think of this, but I can guarantee that most of these companies are making a fortune off of you (or your country, depending on who is paying). Anyways, that is why I try to buy RELIABLE technologies from the start-up companies, to support advancement in the field of diabetes care.

 

Yeah, so when I got my ping over 4 years ago I was told the dexcom integration was due to be released "very soon, probably within 6 months"... did I hold my breath waiting for it? No. I didn't choose the ping based on the possibility of the integration. That's not to say I don't care, but it wasn't a major influencing factor for me.

Personally I think it's stupid (yes, and I'm not afraid to say that, and back it up) to choose ANY pump based only on speculation of what the company may release in the future. If that's the only reason you chose the ping, then that was a mistake and I can understand wanting to turn it in and get something different, but keep in mind that there is always going to be rumors of "something" being available soon, and the reality of that is that we may not actually see it for 5 years or more, even when it's available elsewhere in the world.

Don't make long-term care decisions based on "what ifs"... base them on what is available NOW.

 

well in this case the vibe is approved in Canada as of a while ago

 

Well I'm glad it wasn't just a rumor and that someone wasn't blowing smoke at me when I was originally told that the vibe may be out soon. I got a follow up email from animas about pump eligibility and I inquired about the dexcom at the same time. The person who I am corresponding with from animas gave me a break down of the cost of the dexcom g4 as well as a tentative release date in november or december.

I feel like some people at animas were just more informed than others or they were told not to be saying much about it.

 

Of course, it is not going to be something they want to discuss with someone who is ready to buy a new pump in August. Especially someone who has multiple functional pumps and can hold off.

The sales reps reaction to talk of the vibe makes perfect sense to me now.

 

Most of the people who find the dexcom superior to the Medtronic CGMS have never used the enlite sensors with the veo/ 530g.

However, the enlite sensors with the veo/ 530g apparently are very completive with the dexcom.

If animas is just the distributor of dexcom, I don?t see how animas is going to be able to compete price wise. Case in point Medtronic is giving you 500$ worth of sensors and the 800$ worth of CGMS equipment with pump purchase at this time.

The fact that the vibe has no remote just reveals a major design flaw with animas you can?t sink multiple devices with it. Thus, you can only sink one meter remote at a time.

On Medtronic you can sink several meters

 

It's true that most people on here are comparing the Dex to the old sensors. However, studies like this give me serious pause: http://forums.childrenwithdiabetes.com/showthread.php?t=73631

And for us, it's not really the accuracy that makes us like the Dex better. It's things like not having weak signals because the sensor is on his bottom and his pump is on his waist in front. No more false lows (which anectodally people appear to have more problems with on the Enlites than we had on the Sof-Sensors). Keeps giving readings even when you miss a cal. No calibration errors. Shorter lag time. And just generally so, so, so much less fussy.

In your shoes, I'd decide whether I prefered the integration or the remote, and go with that Animas pump and a Dex. And I don't like the interface of the Animas pumps AT ALL. That is how much I prefer the Dex, after having used the MM CGM happily for 5.5 years.

 

Will you please share that break down of Dexcom cost.

 

I heard this study was using enlite sensors with old equipment , not with the veo or 530g the way it is designed to be used. I heard veo/ 530g uses a new algorithm