First a little history. i am 55 years old and type one since the age of 5. i am on s.s. disability due to my numerous health problems most due to 50 years of diabetes. i have been on a pump for about 9 years and love it but today i had to tell my doctor i needed to go back to injections and another type of insulin due to not being able to afford the humalog anymore. now here is why, medicare part B will pay for insulin if you are on a pump. I had been getting my insulin through Liberty medical on my part B but the stopped providing it last year and there is no one else that will do it on part b either. i have called every pharmacy and mail order supplier with no luck. I have called medicare and gotten list from them that were suppose to be providers but none were. I was left with getting my humalog through my medicare part D prescription insurance which has a #2900 a year limit. 3 vials of humalog cost $527 which i pay $40 and my part D pays $487. long story short is with all my meds i hit my part D limit in 4 months so for the next 8 months i would have to pay for all my meds myself which i can not afford to do. i hate to go back to injections but i have no choice. What i cant understand is why with places like this and the american diabetes ■■■. there is no one out there fighting the government fo us on this horrible problem. i can not be the only one in this situation. we need help with this and we need someone or some group to fight for us so we can get the meds we need.
Walgreens and Target pharmacies will bill under Part B. My Target pharmacist says he can, but I do not go on medicare for another 6 months so have not tried. From other forums I have seen posts by folks who have been successful at Walgreens
That makes me wonder if you couldn't tweak your doses (basal and bolus) to use R. The timing on the boluses would be different, but I would think withsome math you could set up basals to at least keep your pump with regular insulin. I know that this what is used on an inpatient basis in hospitals (albeit IV not pump) hopefully a good CDE/Endo could help. THat might be a good reason to contact Gary Scheiner.
My heart BREAKS when i hear things like this. everything is fine, youre doing well, and all because of money you cant continue with whats working! i hope you are able to find some way to keep your pump! good luck.
We have this in Minnesota, you may have something similar, or call them and see if they can help or make a recommendation...
Assistance Programs for Diabetes Supplies Insulin Pumps Free and Reduced-Cost Insulin and Prescription Medications
Scholarships
This publication contains information about patient assistance programs
that are available in the United States and Canada.
You can find more resources state-by-state(andforCanada)forlocal assistance programs and as well as information about government programs
on Islets of Hope at:http://www.isletsofhope.com/
Maybe, if you are in the neighborhood, someone could drop off some Humalog until we figure out whats going on with your insurance. Remember, you can always go to the hospital and get some. I dont think that unpaid medical bills can, legally, affect your credit. You gotta do what you gotta do. Your insurance will likley cover an ER visit for a serious, life threatning, medical condition (such as hyperglycemia). I bet the women down in the billing office at the hospital could help figure this out. :)
So in other words, you are now in the same position that all T1 diabetics who inject every day are in - where you need to pay outright for your insulin. What I find more unfair is not that a pumper has to pay for their insulin (unless they can figure out some provider who will give it to them for free under Part D), but that ALL T1 diabetics are required to pay the outrageous cost, including those who have chosen to inject either because they prefer it or because they don't think the cost is justified.
Why should a pumper get free insulin, but a MDI need to pay through the nose? Shouldn't all diabetics be offered insulin at the same LOW negotiated cost?
I don't. I blame the Republicans and Democrats both who decided they would give a huge gift to the drug companies by letting them bill whatever they wanted instead of letting medicare negotiate the price of prescription drugs like is done in every other civilized country in the world. That happened under Bush, by the way, but was supported by both parties in Congress.
Insulin has existed since 1922, its strange it hasn't come down in cost, but pump users use the same insulin as manual injectors. Its all the same insulin. I dont think they charge you less for insulin if its a pump or if its syringe injected. Same price either way. He's a type one and I'm sure used to inject since he's been diabetic for 50 years. :) The problem is when the healthcare system makes it prohibitivley difficult for someone to obtain life saving medications - which it does in many different ways.
i will check with wallgreens and target but have had no luck with anyone around here. my medicare part D will pay for the insulin whether it is for a pump on injection but cant get the humalog and then after 4 months have worthless insurance. i will be on novilin to inject and it is only about $25 a bottle so i can get it on the part D and and not hit the doughnut hole on my medicare part d. I live in Saucier Mississippi which is about 10 miles north of Gulfport.
jag1, what do you mean that all diabetics have to pay for their insulin? is this something new thru obamacare or something? im in spain so dont know, but if thats true, no, that cant be true! can it?
Yes, diabetics buy their insulin. Insurance will pay for part, if they have it. Obamacare is requiring everyone to have insurance to try to get around people not paying their bills. But, its doing nothing to fix our already broken healthcare system. Insulin very expensive, even with insurance.
