I use humulin r u 500 vial 20ml . When I went to a restaurant with my family i went to the restroom so I can take my insulin shot the vial broke and I don’t have a extra one. So I try to get a refill the pharmacy said it was too soon. If I wanted one I will have to paid $1,471.00 for one vial. I have the money for this insulin and I have medicare part A and Breakfast and part Chicago and part D and I have extra help to paid for my medications. So what I did I called the company it made sense humulin r u 500 on Friday. I will find out tomorrow on what they are doing to do?
@Marie17: we broke a vial once and called our insurance right away - they allowed the purchase of an extra vial because of accidental damage.
So my first suggestion is to call the insurance company first thing tomorrow morning to see if they will allow a refill due to accidental damage. I am not familiar with Medicare etc. so I am not sure who to call.
Please don’t spend all that money without first trying to talk to the insurance. I hope someone can help with more specific information. I would start calling first thing in the morning.
I would also call my doctor’s office to ask what they can do. Possibly they can give you a prescription for a slightly different insulin that would still work for you but that your insurance will accept to pay for.
Another path, but much more expensive: I believe that Humulin R may be the same formula as ReliOn Regular, sold at Walmart for much cheaper, and without the need for a prescription, although NOT in concentrated form. If you find out that these two insulin correspond, and if you can make do with using the non-concentrated form, I believe that a Regular 3ml vial costs about $25. A 5x concentrated 20ml vial is equivalent to 100 ml of non-concentrated insulin Regular, i.e. about 33 x $25 = $825. Still very expensive but half the price of the big vial replacement.
I am almost certain that you will succeed in getting more insulin without having to pay for it. This is a LOT of money. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I hope that others who know more about your insurance can pipe in.
Sorry to hear about this. When you call your Dr in the morning ask if they have a sample. It may get you through until your insurer gets back to you. Good luck.
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I suspect that if you phrase your request properly that Medicare will cover it. Here is their discussion of replacing supplies in a disaster or emergency. Be clear to portray the vial breaking as something the vial should never have done and that this constitutes an emergency that leaves your health at risk and will likely result in an emergency room visit.
If this does not work then have your doctor change your prescription to increase it by another vial a month, then you should be able to have a pharmacy work to get you an additional vial and have it covered.
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If you are not pumping, then I presume your insulin is covered by your Part D plan. In that case, definitely call the insurance company. Most plans have allowances for contingencies like this.