Being on Medicare I can no longer afford trulicity or lantus. It would put me in the donut hole in a month. Trying to think how to deal with this. I doubt I qualify for any assistance or free drugs. I take metformin. I am thinking older drugs or insulin. But really not a clue.i would need $800 or more to buy any.nancy50
Regular an NPH are available at Walmart for 24.99/10 ml vial. Novolog has a copay card which might help.
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I believe you can get Basalglar (same insulin as Lantus) for a little cheaper but may not be cheap enough for your needs.
Walmart probably carries the cheapest insulin. They carry the short acting Regular and the longer acting NPH for about $25-$40 for a 10 mL vial. For basal insulin (Lantus replacement), I would experiment with three NPH shots per day – I’ve heard of some good results with this regimen. Check with your doctor to confirm.
When I was dosing 2x/day of NPH, I had to be careful of it’s 6-hour peak. That meant trying to time a meal or snack at that time.
I would still check into the assistance programs with Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk just to make sure about your eligibility. Their more modern insulins are easier to live with, but they are way more expensive.
Good luck.
My doc gives my wife and me all the insulin that we need. Also, I get 2 meds that are very expensive directly from the mfgrs. I get them every 90 days, mail order, thanks to having an income either 2 or 3 times (I forgot which) less than the poverty level, FOR FREE. Check into these programs; it is OK to be on Medicare and receive things for free, if they are directly from the manufacturers, unlike the coupon deals redeemable at pharmacies–those are not permissible if one is on Medicare. Hope that helps!
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@Dave44 is right. Take what the manufacturers are willing to give for free. My spouse had a drug that was $1800/shot/2x monthly plus administration fees paid for entirely by Genentech. I’m not too proud to take their payment of an overpriced drug.
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Insulin manufacturers have patient assistance programs. For some their cutoff is 200% of the federal poverty level for others it’s 300%. To get in you need some help from your Dr. (filling out medications, sending in forms, and receiving the medications from the programs). Since you are on medicare you may need to provide proof that you have spent a certain amount already on the medications you need to qualify.
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