Hello fellow Canadians. Following the approval of the G5 by Health Canada it appears that Dexcom will be self-distributing the G5 as opposed to using Animas Canada (my Animas rep told me to contact Dexcom).
I am about to get my first Dexcom and have been waiting for the G5 to be released with pricing and to get an insurance determination on coverage of either the G4 or G5.
Here is a link to a “special offer” by Dexcom whereby they will give 2 free sensors for essentially pre-ordering a G5.
Dexcom talks about a price of “$89/month” which I interpret as the cost of the transmitters only, since in the fine print it says a receiver is optional and that you need to buy at least 6 boxes of sensors a year to qualify for this monthly price. Given the 3 month hard stop on G5 transmitters this makes them $267 each. The other way to look at it is $1,068 per year, versus probably one G4 sensor (if it lasts a year) for about $700-$800 I think?
What are your thoughts on the pricing difference between G4 and G5 with this new info?
Since I have already invested a substantial amount of coin into a G4 system and am content with it, I will not be upgrading to a G5. I’m content with what the G4 can give me. Also, I really do not want my bg data on my phone.
My understanding of this pricing (and I’m unclear about whether this is permanent or just a special offer) is that it would be $89 x 12 = 1,068 + $340 x 6 = $2,040 = $1,068 + $2,040 = $3,108 a year.
Currently, I spend about $2,500 a year on the G4 system (I use about four boxes of sensors a year by stretching one to three weeks on average, one transmitter seems to last a year, and my receiver so far has lasted two years). So, the G5 would cost me about $600 a year more than I’m currently paying. That is not a ton, and is actually tempting, especially now that I’ve heard the new Apple Watch is waterproof…
And also, assuming one foregoes the receiver with G5, the first year would be a wash since the year’s $600 higher transmitter cost for G5 offsets the G4 receiver cost. G4 would only become cheaper after that point.
