Interesting and frustrating! Just got a letter from Blue Shield saying that my Freestyle strips are non-formulary and I will have to pay $50 a month for them if I want to keep them. What’s frustrating is they pay for my Omnipod 100%. The Omnipod uses Freestyle strips. There seems to be a disconnect.
I do have the little coupon thingy from Freestyle so I could use that every month. This means I no longer get a huge supply by mail any longer.
Don’t you just love insurance companies and their strange decisions. A previous insurance company wouldn’t cover my Freestyle years ago. What’s the deal with Freestyle and insurance companies?
Try talking to your Dr. I had the same thing happen to me with a different insurance company and my Dr. got them to give me an exemption. I had been really stressed out about needing to carry a second meter all the time but the whole thing was resolved very quickly.
That is exactly what I did. My doc angel wrote the RX in a way that would not allow any substitution for strips and also for insulin. In addition, I called the insurance company and explained the RX requirement and a note was included on my ‘record’ for insulin and strips because of the link to the pump. This took a couple of phone minutes on my end and the whole thing was resolved.
I don’t know what the deal is with insurance company decisions regarding what products will be included in the formulary. And why it changes. Lots of folks believe this is a result of conspiracy blah de blah. Who knows. The one thing that I do know is one of my jobs is to figure out how to advocate for what I need and take the time to do it. Some hassles are worth the time. I hope you get what you need, Linny.
Thank you, Karen! Just when I thought I was smooth sailing. Luckily this new policy doesn’t start until July and I can refill my Freestyle for 3 months in June. Next, work with my doctor and insurance company. My doc is great and will write whatever I need.
But why does it have to be a hassle? Isn’t having diabetes hassle enough?
I have to pay $100 for a 3 month Rx, or $50/month for my strips, also, because they aren’t the “preferred (read: kickback) strips” through my Aetna insurance. I use the Contour Next because of the convenience of using it with my MM pump. I wish insurance would treat all vendors equally.
Exactly, Phoenix! The letter said $50 a month for me as well. I did pay $100 for 3 months which I could not believe! Everything else I get is so cheap by mail, except Insulin - $40 a month.
