My insurance company just sent a 2015 update on what medicines they will cover and other changes in the current policy. I am on Humalog right now, and it works very well for a quick control for me. However, starting Jan 1, 2015, my insurance company will only pay for Novolin and Novolog. They also will only pay for one strip each day for 30 days. They don't want any other meter but a One Touch meter and they will send me a FREE One Touch and 30 day supply of strips, I'm slightly ticked, because this company is intertwined with my hospital, and none of this was even mentioned a month ago, AND the meter that I have now is new and works wonderfully for what I need beside numbers,....but the strips themselves are highly spendy. My humalog works great, and I don't want to change....(did you hear me stomp my feet.....I've had it and don't know where to turn to voice my distaste of these changes. Any ideas or thoughts. There is no way I can afford paying for these items on my own, and who only uses one strip a day, anyway?
I would like to encourage you to contact your endo (or whoever sees you for your diabetes management) and ask them to request an exception of medical prescriptions for your strips and insulin. Also, be sure to ask your insurance if there are any waivers, such as a Durable Medical Equipment (DME), that are available. Some carriers also offer a "Wellness" program where if you particapate in it, they will waive some of the copays. Good Luck!
Diabetes is tricky enough to manage well with many dynamic factors at play. Once you get well acquainted with how an insulin works, it can be a pain to switch.
I use Apidra, but I know I'm allergic to Novolog. If I were in your shoes I would have to get my doctor to write a letter that asserted my claim to a waiver. That's a pain but if you have good reason to remain with your current insulin then that's an attractive path.
Have you tried Novolog or Novolin? Novolog is the faster of the two. Maybe it would work just as well. Perhaps you should try it.
We shouldn't have to switch. That should be a basic health care right. Why should we dance to the whimsy of the parasitic payers?
Good luck with whatever course you choose.
I switched from humalog to novolog and found the differences modest, and if anything novolog seemed slightly faster acting for me but the difference is too subtle to be sure. So to me, anyway, that's not much of an issue.
One test strip per day for an insulin-dependent diabetic is absurd. You'll need to enlist your endo to help you, and if the letter can mention the consequences of your driving while low, for example, that might help.
That is infuriating! I'd like to know when they expect you to test your blood sugar with one strip!!???
I do want to add if it can be a consolation, personally, I have used humalog et novolog with no difference to me.
I hope you find a solution!
Insurance companies can be infuriating, but there are ways around it. Your doctor can write letters of medical necessity, for test strips, (if you're on insulin, for sure you need to test more than once a day), and for insulin. It's not unheard of for a diabetic to develop an "allergy" to a specific insulin. Part of our problem is insulin antibodies after all. If a certain insulin is working for you and another doesn't, that constitutes medical necessity;your endocrinologist only needs to clarify this to the insurance God's and all should be well!
Get your doc to do the preauthorization thing. I had the same thing happen to me this year - stopped covering Apidra which is the only rapid-acting I've ever used. I have to get the preauthorization every year, but it wasn't a hassle at all.
I would like to have noted, just in case I am the ONLY one, that it is not unusual for a person to use 2 - 4 strips in one testing time, you can get errors, you can have lows or highs that you want to check to make sure that your are taking care of the problem....sometimes that takes more strips than one a day. Honestly, I don't think that there is a medical person on site at my insurance company ==== and it's combined with the hospital and clinic! I think I see stupid people
Oh Trust me I KNOW how to work the system....only too well, Social Security, Department of Social Services, Insurance Co's....but you know this is so totally unnecessary, If companies and agencies would only listen to the consumer, trust them, as we are asked to do with them, and trust the other professionals we hire to take our health seriously. I worry about the people who don't know how to work the system...or are to afraid to work it, and get their needs met, or too proud to do so. Situations like this make me want to move across the border and take my chances with national health insurance!
Humalog and Novolog are the same, for the record. I've taken them interchangeably. It's fine. They are literally the same thing, same dosage, etc.
I'm a college student so my family still deals with all of the insurance (thank god), but I know that they talked to all of my doctors and got various letters, and they call insurance every time we have to renew and yell at them. I would ask your doctor how to best advocate for yourself.
I am going through a similar situation with my insurance company. They suddenly want to require pre authorization for novolog but could not give me a reason why. So I went back to humolog. I can't say thee was much a difference between the two drugs in my experience. Ask for waviers from your insurance company. Ask your doctor if they have any free samples.
To avoid confusing anybody, Humalog and Novolog are definitely not literally the same thing. They are very similar products, from different pharmaceutical companies, and for many, but not all people, they produce similar effects. One difference is that some studies have found that Novolog is least susceptible to occlusions when used in a pump, as compared to Humalog and Apidra.
Right there with you stomping my feet as well.
This stone henge attitude to this is ridiculous.
I also use humalog. The change has more to do with money and costs and the greatest discount to Insurance carrier.
One strip a day is utter ludicrous. As useful as wetting your fingers to get wind direction and speed.
Best wishes and good luck!