I talked to Shane Fox today from Animas Corporation and he said that my deductible was $500.00 abd if I wanted to pursue getting a new device with Animas (Currently have Medtronic) that I could do their trade-in pump declaration and they would give me $700.00 towards my new device (kinda, sounds to good to be true) And since my deductible was $500.00 that means that the pump would be paid at 100% and not cost me anything out of pocket.
Like I said this sounds to good to be true, but I wanted to check with you guys and see if any of you have participated in Animas Trade In Pump Declaration?! Is there anything (like fine print) that I should know about. Or is this trade in program with another company just this simple?
I have not participated in the Animas trade-in, but in the past Minimed has given similar credit/trade in reduction when upgrading from one MM model to another. They do this as incentive to get folks to switch or prevent switching to the other companies. In my case, MM did not give me the credit until I sent the old pump back.
However, I'd suggest you confirm how your insurance plan works regarding coverage after deductible is met. Sometimes coverage is 80% until the yearly maximum out of pocket limit is reached, and then 100% coverage. So be sure to confirm if your coverage is 100% for pump/DME after deductible only.
Also, if your current MM pump is still under warranty, some insurance companies won't approve another pump.
I’ve always traded in my pumps when I got new out of warranty pumps replaced. Animas had the same offer when I switched to them from Medtronic and it saved me quite a bit of money as it reduces your copay. My copay is 15% after deductibles have been met so it’s worthwhile to me.
Given that it’s almost December and you are currently pumping you have most likely already met your deductible for this year however and your copay may still be zero even without the trade if you are 100% covered for DME. Is the $500 they are talking about your copay? What is your DME coverage? What would you owe Animas if you did not trade in your old pump? That is what you really need to know in order to make a decision. If you get your pump now you may only have to pay your copay if you have one. If you wait till the insurance year starts over which is usually January you will usually owe the copay plus the $500 deductible.
Some people like to keep their old pumps as a backup. I know I’d have trouble trusting something if it was very old in an emergency so I’d rather have the copay credit.
I haven't met my deductible for this year. None of my equipment is used towards my deductible. $500.00 is how much my deductible is. My DME coverage is a $50.00 copay.
My insurance company says I will only have to pay $50.00 for a pump as it's considered durable medical equipment. But Animas says I'll have to pay the $500.00 and then everything will be paid at 100%. If I do this trade in program he says they will basically give me up to $700.00 which will cover my deductible cost.
So I'm not really sure who knows what their talking about when it comes to how much I'll actually pay for a insulin pump. I know I'm definitely tired of dealing with all of the pump companies & insurance company.
