Insurance Coverage of Test Strips

oh yeah, any kind of science project requires extra strips. Pretty much all of the books are like ‘if your numbers are screwed up, test a lot and figure it out’ but insurance company scripting precludes any consciousness of what we have to do. This issue really riles me up. I probably need extra blood pressure medicine to compensate for it. And some psych meds! C’mon Blue Cross, let’s DANCE!!!

United Health Care just made me switch to mail order to get my strips. I was paying $10 for 200 every 20 days and then, without warning, it went up to $35. It took a few phone calls to figure out what was going on, and it took my husband calling for them to finally give us an answer, but there it was. I hate using mail order, and it’s still not as cheap as $10/20 days, but it’s cheaper than $35.

UHC changed the tier system and doubled the cost of my Precision strips. I was told to try an appeal to see if I can get the old pricing. None of this makes sense because the strips from all major companies cost virtually the same. If I switch to One Touch, I pay less and the insurance company pays more. I don’t see how that benefits anyone.
I am surprised by how often people test. I am not on a pump and test 4 to 6 times per day. I was amazed how many people test 10 or more times a day.

Your posts really make me laugh. LET’S DANCE! I will have that in my head next time I call the insurance co!

I am not sure what motivates their decisions. Maybe it is due to the reform, but then again, they constantly change their preferred formulary. Usually it is for supplies that I don’t use, so I don’t pay as much attention.

Cathy, Are you a T1 or a T2? Do you use insulin?

Hmmm, it looks as if I’ll be changing meters too, with todays letter: “your OneTouch meter suxx for us. You are going to use a Bayer meter that is bigger than a OneTouchMini that clips so handily in your running belt. We were unable to leverage our non-profit corporate muscle to get you the free, little meter Bayer makes”. Fortunately, either flavor of meter will fit in my golf bag when I am setting up my artillery range across the street from their offices. Also perhaps amusingly, I have a free Bayer meter I got like a month ago on my shelf. I guess I’d better RTFM?

HAHA!!! LOVE IT!!!

I have BCBS as well but have not received one of these letters yet and hope not too!! (fingers crossed)

This is IL/TX/NM/OK BlueCross, supervised by Health Care Services Corporation. Whose office will require a 9 iron rather than the Big Bertha.

Gotcha! I am BCBS of AL. I did receive the letter about needing a Bayer meter but I chose to ignore it! I like my one touch just fine!!

strips dont cost that much and if yours do, maybe go for a store brand machine like wal greens.
my insurance only covers accu-chek stuff, but i have to pay 20%
i dont think i use over 200$ worth a month. i use like 4strips a day sometimes 5.
not much you can do about it with your insurance, but deal with it for now unless u find one that have bettrer coverage

That is 20 cases of cheap beer/ month!! I have not yet begun to fight.

I also work in the insurance industry although I deal with property and casualty insurance (car accidents…) rather than health insurance. Coincidentally, I have cases with hundreds of contingency type of attorneys. It’s not a slam dunk case but the way BCBS is pretending they have evidence (“the FDA recommends testing 200x / month” LOL…) is almost insulting. I could just suck it up but, to me, I read the threads from people who run into these problems and think they need a complete whackjob prepared to pay the $433 Cook County filing fees ($203 appearance and $230 jury demand…or is it the other way around?) to get a case going. Just add the other plaintiffs and the class action and get the case kicked to federal court somewhere down the road? Perhaps interestingly, BCBS have included in their letter the statement “high blood sugar can damage your heart, eyes, feet and kidneys over time”. You’ wouldn’t even have to file a motion to get them to admit damages since they thoughtfully already admitted to it the defendant and blooey it’s off to the races. Maybe not a slam dunk but I would like to look into this.

just a technical point: “high blood sugar can damage your heart, eyes, feet, and kidneys” is not an admission of legal liability. i’m not totally sure what claim you could bring but it would probably sound in negligence (the failure of the insurance company to adhere to the standard of care that a reasonable, similarly situated insurance company would observe, causing physical harm), and you’re going to have some issues there because their compliance with the standard of care established by medicare or whatever federal guidelines that say 200/month, or the practices of similarly situated insurance companies, is an affirmative defense against a negligence claim. you are also going to have some causation issues. proving that the marginal decrease in test strips was the proximate cause of persistently elevated blood sugars is actually pretty difficult in a court room, even if the causal chain between elevated blood sugars and poor health outcomes is clear. i will say that i am a lowly law student and you should probably consult a licensed attorney in your state of residence :).

but i admire the spirit. keep on fighting the good fight.

Lol, we haven’t filed anything yet. I think the lack of standards is a huge part of the problem.

LOL – lead us into the breach, oh captain.

They all need a good…um…talking to.

Grrrrr…

Tell them that if you feel low – and you’ve already used your 6.667 strips allotted for the day, you’ll be forced to go to the emergency room for a test.

Hello?

Strips are NOTHING compared to inpatient treatment for highs or lows – not to mention complications. These bean counters are daft. Utterly clueless.

Life is too short to drink cheap beer

Yes something is going on. I went to pick up my 204 strips for the month and was given one box. I told the pharmacist that 102 strips covers less than a month and she said oh but we can’t give you part of a box and your prescription says “6 times a day”. If it said “7 times a day” I could give you 2 boxes again. So I have t talk to my endo when I go in this month. It’s a crock.

Well, at least you don’t have the monthly science project I get, being female. My basal rates change 3 times a month, asuming I am totally healthy. Talk about a science project.