I’ve only been on the pod for about 6 weeks and my sugars are still not where they need to be but I feel so much better and am not having the lows that plagued me from the beginning of starting insulin. Plus, the flexibility and freedom are pretty priceless. But I do have to agree with what others have said. $1,000 is nothing to some people, a mountain to others. You have to make your decision based on your own personal circumstances of finances and any compromise to your health from going back to MDI
Hi David,
Under my insurance plan the test strips are under my co-pay for prescriptions so my $5K deductible does not apply to them. The preferred brand that BCBS of Az prefers would cost me $15, but the Freestyle would cost me $65. By using the Promise program, they pay the difference and I pay the $15. my Endo has written a prescription for 400 ea strips monthly so I pay for 1 prescription @ $15. If this doesn’t make sense to you send me a email at "gails@azmicrotek.com" and I’ll try to explain it better.
What is your co-pay for a prescription?
Thanks for the reply. I suspected you have a “separate” portion of your insurance for prescriptions which your reply confirms. My $4K deductible applies to “everything” including prescriptions. So until I meet the deductible I pay the insurance negotiated price for prescriptions. 3 mos of the Freestyle strips (600) would have been around $490 with the Promise program (a $50 discount). I don’t think my wife will be at this job the full year so I’m looking to not pay so much into the deductible so I paid about 1/2 price for the strips online, still paid out of my HSA account. Fortunately her employer gives $2,000 towards the deductible. I’m looking forward to getting on the state sponsored insurance here in VT when she starts her own business. If you join the chronic disease management program, all disease related copays/coinsurance is “waived” so that means free pods, insulin, strips, lancets, diabetes related MD visits and blood work. Lots of things are on the chopping block here with the big deficit so I can only hope that disease management program survives. There is a major push and big support here to develop a single payer health care system in this state so that would be good but it may be a dozen or so years away so hopefully they wouldn’t cut current health care programs but who knows.
Wow, sounds like a good plan. Is this done by the State of Vermont?
Sorry I could’t help. BTW, I’m also " a New Englander", I’m originally from NH!
Yes, here they have state sponsored insurance for the uninsured (with fairly generous income limits) so when my wife starts her business and we are on COBRA we will be considered uninsured and can get on the plan. There are 2 different insurance companies here that offer a plan in conjunction with the state.
I moved here 3 years ago from VA. I go to Dartmouth in Lebanon for my diabetes care.
Cobra is not offered at my company because we are under 10 employees. I hope I NEVER lose my job cause I will be without insurance. As you probably already know, as a Diabetec you can not be without coverage for 1 hour. If you are you will be turned down the next time you apply for coverage due to “Pre Existing Condition” and will have to wait 1 full year before applying again 
Lebanon is BEAUTIFUL! I miss NE but do not miss the cold weather LOL!!
http://http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fshipaa.htmlGail,
My understanding of the pre-existing trap you mentioned is that you fall in to that if you are uncovered for 63 or more days. Under that time frame, you can go from one insurance to another and still be considered to be “continuously covered” and pre-existing conditions won’t apply on your new insurance. In the link, look under “Pre-existing Condition Exclsuions”
http://http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fshipaa.html
This is my 4th winter here and I’m starting to see how one can get tired of the cold. But I still think I’ll take that over the oppressive heat and humidity of SE VA
I don’t know why but the last reply you sent did not give me an option to reply?
I am going to go the link you sent and read it, hopefully things have changed and that after 63 days of no coverage, you can then get coverage. My experience was from 10 years ago…i had a letter from Cobra showing I had continous coverage and still, when I started with this company, BC/BS kept denying coverage anyway, UNTIL my company threatened to have the Company lawyers get involved. At that point they finally accpted me for coverage. It was very stressful. I hope you are right 
I would pay up to $800 per month. My son is 5 and .5 unit increments available from a pen is not nearly accurate enough to keep him level!