So I've recently got on the Accu-chek combo insulin pump. My insurance paid for this 100% no problem. It even covers all of the usual pump supplies. Great right?
Now...For some reason they refuse to cover the Accu-Chek Aviva Plus test strips I need for the meter that corresponds with the pump (I'm unable to manually enter my BG on the meter, which then "talks" with my pump to decide the best insulin dosage for me). Accu-chek has sent me 50 free test strips and my doctor wrote a need of necessity to my insurance company to try to convince them to cover these specific test strips. Nope, my insurance company will not have ANY of that. They denied the request. I'm trying to find other options but I'm running low on the strips they supplied me. I'm currently in college and money is really tight for me right now and I test at least 10 times a day.
I'm not sure if I could trade anything or give some small amount of money; but does anybody have Accu-Chek Aviva Plus test strips they no longer use/want/need?
Every assistance program I've looked at requires that you do not have insurance; which I do; which is also the really sucky part of all of this.
Obviously you want the strips that work with your pump, duh! The bizarre world of insurance, for sure. I have never understood why but sometimes people are able to get supplies through a 3rd party company that the insurance will pay (even though the insurance won't cover the supplies directly). You might call your insurance company to see what 3rd parties they work with and then see if those 3rd parties carry the specific strips you want.
I don't use Accu-chek, but have another suggestion to check with your insurance. I have separate Pharmacy and DME benefits, and primarily I get my diabetes supplies from the Pharmacy side. There are some cases where certain brands are not available through Pharmacy, but are available via the DME benefits, but usually at higher cost/co-pay.
You could also directly contact Roche support for other possible options. They have a vested interest in finding a solution for you !
I use the Mini-med pump, and do have the BG sent to it electronically. But there is also an option to manually enter it into the pump, if I use a non-wireless BG monitor/different brand. Are you sure the Combo pump does not allow that ? Maybe check with Roche support to confirm. May be your last resort option.
Definitely try Don's suggestion. I actually experienced something similar but with the pump itself. The folks at accu-chek were awesome and discovered that if they shifted the transaction over to a DME supplier then everything would be covered (though I still have some out-of-pocket stuff it is a relatively small amount all things considered). Usually though, if the DME supplier is in-network it doesn't matter what strips they supply you as long as they are supplying you.
I've asked my pump trainer and she said that was the only draw back of the combo pump :( I did contact Roche, they sent me a sample of 50 test strips, but we all know how long that will actually last :P
I'm going back to my pump trainer tomorrow and I will talk with her about these options. She's really been great at advocating for me and handling the rough and tough battles brought on by the insurance company. I tend to get easily worn out by the insurance people :P Thats really awesome though, I'm going to really pursue this!
Yes, Don is correct. Most health insurances do use a pharmacy company. If you look on your insurance card it probably has that company listed (Express Scripts, Medco etc..). Call the pharmacy number and ask if they cover the strips. If they do have the pharmacy run your strips under drug coverage. Sometimes pharmacy tech are none too bright and will run insurance wrong.
