My daughter is 12 and was diagnosed March 2018. Of course her hospital visit met our deductible and made her supplies much more affordable. Unfortunately, now we can’t afford her Dexcom supplies. We did get an order of Omnipods before the new year.
My question is how do people have endless amount of Dexcom and omnipod supplies for sale on Craigslist? Where are they getting these? They are selling for no less than $300 a box of sensors. It breaks my heart to see the pictures with 100’s of boxes of Pods, Sensors, and Transmitters. When so many people can’t afford them.
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Either way my girl will be just fine. She does very well monitoring her BS. I just hate for her to go back to the original way. It breaks my heart. She told me tonight to not worry about trying to get her Dexcom supplies. She would be fine doing it the old way.
But someone out there has a room full of supplies selling them. I don’t get it.
My guess would be insurance fraud.
The amount of supplies insurance wouldn’t even cover in one year. I wonder if it’s those companies that pay for diabetes supplies and maybe a reseller.
Maybe it was a diabetic who passed?
That did cross my mind. However, the amount of supplies in the picture would indicate the patient never used them. Actually, more Dexcom G6 supplies than they could have even received since it came out. I mean there are 100’s of boxes of sensors and pods. We only get 3 boxes of sensors and 1 transmitter with each order. I surely hope whoever they may have been intended for is taken care of. I guess when I get the statement and I read 4,000 + dollars it’s just shocking. This individual is sitting on a gold mine. Lol
I have experience with fraud. You would be amazed at the ingenuity of people.
They could be knockoffs or outdated supplies also. I guess they could also be stolen. I know with Medicare that you have to see your doctor every 3 months and he has to provide patient information at times. A old saying: Where there is a will there is a way.
Some places, like Minnesota, cover these supplies through state health plans. So, what if you had a diabetic person in a group home? Their supplies might be free of charge and shipped regularly. A nursing home might have many diabetic patients. If that person dissapeared ( died or left and was living on the street), then supplies may still be shipped to the facility. Maybe the staff is selling them.
My question - why dont they sell them at discount so that there is actually motivation to buy them?
My 2nd question - Why dont you just ask them? You can meet up with them/email them and offer to buy supplies, and get a look at them. That might answer more questions than anything else.
Next year, try to time it so that you have extra supplies before the end of the year. Tell the Doc that you have hardware failures and you need some extras, otherwise you run out of supplies. They will need to write the Rx for more supplies at a time. Try to have a few extras stored up before re-ordering. Ideally, you might build up a month of supplies (including insulin) before January.
I’m super uncomfortable with using a pump without a sensor. This should be limited and/or avoided if possible. It happens, but its best to limit it. Tell the Doc its a dangerous situation. After meeting your deductible, sensors should be easier to get than Pods because you can pretend she changes it every 3 days, even if she uses it for a week.
Keep in mind that once you meet your deductible, the cost will go down. Beginning of year is always more cost, but if you can calculate estimated yearly cost (lower after deductible), maybe it will be affordable.
If you have option for FSA or HSA, that can reduce costs to
They are probably selling them at the full retail price. Keep in mind that when you are paying cheaper through insurance, your insurance is covering part or all of the cost.
@Tonya3 if you are a Costco member, possibly the cash price for Dexcom supplies might be more affordable. It doesn’t help to satisfy your deductible, but it’s an option
My insurance has the dates down to a science. No way to have any extra Pods or Dexcom supplies.
I did actually email the individual and very nicely ask. I also reassured that I understood sometimes folks have to do what they have to do. 
No response.
However, yes it would be nice if they were at least discounted a bit more. 1 Box of 3 Dexcom sensors $325.
Thank you for the helpful tips. We were able to get a good amount of insulin.
My daughter wears her pods for 3 days. I didn’t know you could wear them longer.
Maybe I can speak with our supplier we have to go through(Edgepark) and get 1 box of sensors for now. Not sure but worth a try.
Again thank you!!
Cash price direct from Dexcom for one box of three G6 sensors is $300.
G6 sensors are of course FDA approved for 10-day wear time and Dexcom provides a full 10-day warranty on each sensor assuming not past expiration date.
@Tonya3 There was a discussion about the Costco Dexcom G6 pricing on another forum that might interest you. I have included a link here, as the post includes Costco member pricing which is a significant savings over buying direct.
https://forum.fudiabetes.org/t/dexcom-g6-at-costco/5509?u=elver
You cant wear the PODs for more than 3 days, but there’s more give in the sensors. Report to the Doc that she changes them exactly as recommended, but if possible, you could wear them longer. Like, I can get 14 days, for sure, out of G4 sensors. Its gonna be harder on you if they are guaranteed up to 10 days, as Tim says. I have an older model that recommended changes every 3 days, so its much easier for me. But, I bet you have some wiggle room there that you can exploit.
Tonya3, I have used the OmniPod for over a decade. Please know that you have about an 8-hour “grace period” after the Pod expires before you actually have to change it. That means that if you wanted to go through the hassle of waiting until the 8-hours expires and are willing to change the Pod at all hours of the day or night, you could get your 3-days + 8 hours out of each Pod. For every three Pods, then, you would gain a day’s worth of future Pod usage. Thus, for every nine Pods that you used the full days + hours rate, you would gain a future Pod’s full 3-day use. I have sometimes gone five or six hours beyond a Pod’s “expiration/ change Pod now” warning due to circumstances beyond my control and have had no adverse effects. So does the Pod last just three days? Yes, but you do have some wiggle room within that time frame.
I am an Omnipod user. My endocrinologist wrote my prescription to change the pod every 48 hours and insurance covers 45 pods for 90 days. Since I wear each pod for 80 hours, I’m able to have a cushion and also am able to help others who are in a pinch. I am still using a Dexcom G4 and I wear every sensor for at least 2 and as much as 7 weeks so my box of 4 sensors can last far longer than the 28 days. I know the G6 sensors can be extended, but I’m not sure for how long.
I’m an Omnipod user. It’s 3 days or when the insulin runs out. What my MD did was write a script for one pod per DAY as sometimes, depending on how much insulin I use, it CAN be 24 hours. You can also make it stretch to the true 3 days by supplementing boluses with an insulin pen. As far as the G6 goes, I’ve been having issues with them either lasting 10 days or falling off early. Dexcom replaces them but the insurance still sends them on a normal schedule, so I’ve built up a small surplus that way. Just some ideas.
Thank you for this info. She has had a few sensors to come off. She has also had a few Pods to come off. I will work on this.
Thanks again
Tonya
Also, yes insurance was going to send us sensors, but when they needed a card for $1053.00. I let them know I would have to get back to them when I could.