I have used the OmniPod since 2009, and I will never give it up. I love the tubeless freedom of the OmniPod, and it works well for me. I used to get my FreeStyle strips though Part B, but since I am now using the Dexcom G6 – which supposedly does not need calibration – I was told by Medicare that I no longer need test strips. I guess they want me to run my OmniPod pump by manually inputting my Dexcom readings. I am sensitive to insulin, and my personal “study” of OmniPod Freestyle PDM readings vs. Dexcom G6 readings show that about half the time they are only 10 - 20 points off (which is acceptable) but the other half of the time they are 21 - 48 points apart (which is NOT acceptable) for dosing insulin for me. If you DO go to a CGM, Medicare will not pay for any OmniPod test strips. You will have to go to the G5 for Contour Next One strips covered by Medicare or go to the G6 and hope that Medicare will cover strips for the Contour Next One strips once Dexcom releases the G6 for Medicare coverage. You are right that with a CGM, you cannot get both. You will be forced to go to the Contour strips and cannot get the FreeStyle strips for the OmniPod. The good news is that the new OmniPod Dash will use the Contour Next One meter, and that the meter will automatically send your test results to the Dash. I contacted Insulet, and they are looking in to how quickly I can change from the current OmniPod to the new Dash system and have the Dash covered under Medicare. If I want to purchase the Dash out-of-pocket, it will cost me $1,431 every three months. I can’t afford that. For now, I have purchased the Contour Next One. When my Freestyle strips run out, I will change to the Contour Next One strips since they are less expensive and hope 1) that with my G6 orders, I will get strips, and 2) that I can soon change to the Dash and have it covered under Medicare. The G6 Dexcom readings and the Contour Next One readings are very close, so I assume the Dash will fit in well when I am able to get the whole system working together – and paid for by Medicare.
The only warning I was given by a pharmacist concerning buying strips online was to try to find a reliable source and to always check the expiration dates. Even the strips I just bought at Walgreens, I am sure were on sale because they have an expiration date of November or December of 2019. They are moving out older stock to make room for new strips. The strips are still good, but I always am conscious of expiration dates.
Anyone on this thread on a Medicare Advantage plan and able to get G5 supplies from DexCom? (I’m in Wisconsin, if that might be another important factor). I completed the form on DexCom’s website—MONTHS ago with no response from DexCom. My Advantage plan does cover the G5 supplies with a co-pay (and my supplies are delivered much faster than when I ordered directly from DexCom a few years ago when my insurance did not cover them and also before I was on Medicare)
Amazon is a reliable source and if you find the strips are expired or near expiration, you can always return them to Amazon at their shipping expense and leave negative feedback.
eBay and Craigs list test strips, however, are often expired or near expiration. The listings are supposed to and usually do give the expiration dates. About 4 years ago I purchased expired lifescan one touch test strips on eBay as a test and tested 6 months expired and 12 month expired test strip results against non-expired strips and the results were not only good but near identical. I only used test strips that came in a sealed box and container inside was snapped tight shut.
I have also always gone several days past expiration date on my Lantus basal insulin as it has not shown any signs of degradation.
Some people throw out any food beyond best use by or after sell by date, I don’t.
Re those a couple days ago saying they must get their Contour strips from Dex. Maybe I should not tempt fate but I still get my Contour Next strips from local CVS (I am on Caremark for mail order meds but most are same price at local CVS) and get Dex sensors & transmitter from Dexcom for my G5.
I don’t know if it relates to my being on fed Blue Cross for supplement to Medicare or not.
I just got my 3 month strip supply from CVS a few days ago.
Just noting that federal folks on Medicare should check their supplement insurance. I pay a huge amount for BC and Medicare but it is worth it as I have no office visit co-pay (do have a med co-pay) and considering all the diabetes supplies I need, I am grateful–knock on wood.
I won’t get into my previous hassle about pump supplies with a different online company!
Good to know. I think the pharmacist’s warning was because he had heard horror stories about eBay and Craig’s list sites that really ripped off some people. I know that expiration dates are usually set up with a cover-our-@$$ mentality so that companies are very safe from repercussions because goods did not act (or taste or smell) as expected. My downfall is with spices. I use them for years after they expire, and I still live to tell about it. They perhaps have lost their full potency, but they have not killed me yet. I confess that I finally cleaned out my spice rack this year and discarded some that expired in 2007 or 2010! I am a little more cautious, however, with healthcare products. I am set for a while and will keep an eye out for sales on the supplies I need.
Since you are on the G5, Medicare will cover your test strips no matter where you get them because the G5 needs calibration. Medicare not wanting to cover test strips for my OmniPod is only because I am on the G6 which (supposedly) does not require calibration. Medicare does not understand the complexities of controlling blood sugar while using insulin.
SherryAnn, those of you in the advance guard are going to have a tough battle I think.
We are starting a long transition of “weaning” from strips but in the process the strips are still needed while the G6 and Medtronic, etc, fine tune their cgm accuracy so that strips will truly not be needed–but that time has not yet come.
I hope that your physician can have a deciding role in the insurance decision during the transition phase. A strong letter, perhaps.
I am so confused, don’t understand why folks are having problems. I am on Medicare with a BC/BS secondary. No problems with getting Dexcom g6, but CVS no longer gives me the Rx of strips for 8-10 tests a day. Now I get three/day. If all is normal in my life and am behaving myself my G6 has shown itself to be accurate and don’t need to test. But when things go south, I need more than 3/day.
So get an Rx from your doc like I did for my G5. It’s the same process and the same issue. W/O an Rx for a greater amount you’ll only get the standard amount.
“…I, like Dave44 also firmly believe that Medicare will include strips and/or make them available to Medicare G6 Dexcom recipients once Dexcom is ready to ship out the G6 Monthly supplies.”
Glad I found this thread, as I have just placed my order for the G6, and will be receiving my upgrade kit next week. My question was going to be, “Do you really not need to test at all?” I was on the phone with the Dexcom representative for a long time, but here’s the update, now in December. I’ve been on the waiting list for G6 for Medicare patients for over two years.
The rep. I spoke to gave me the standard pitch about how wonderful it is, and the improvements in the technology, including no longer needing to test (as a preamble to “so we won’t be sending you any test strips”). I have a few boxes left, so this won’t be an immediate concern, but I just want to verify my original question.
For those of you who are on original Medicare and have a pump and Dexcom G6, has your experience borne this out? I realize that this discussion originated 6 months ago. Several of you thought that Medicare would continue to cover test strips once Dexcom was able to supply the complete package to customers. It sounds to me like they aren’t. However, I don’t know where the non-coverage originates. Is it Medicare who is saying, flatly, that if you have a CGM you don’t need to test, or is Dexcom using this “no need to test!” to hype their sales?
If any of you can shed some light, I would appreciate it.
I am on Medicare and have used the G6 for a while now. As of last month, I was told that Dexcom will NOT send out any test strips to G6 users because the G6 supposedly does not need any calibration. YET, if you have a signal loss between the receiver (or if you use an iPhone Dexcom app which seems to lose signal frequently), the first message you get is to check your blood glucose with a meter until the signal is restored. If you read the manual that comes with the G6, you also will see at the end of almost every section of the book the instructions to check your blood with a glucose meter if you have any questions on the readings. Also, the G6 takes two hours to “warm up” each time you change a sensor, so if you need to know your blood glucose during those two hours, once again, you need test strips and a meter. Yes, the G6 cuts down on the number of tests you may feel you need to take, but it does not eliminate the need completely. Also, especially after a sensor change, the CGM reading can be 30, 40, or even 50 points off – at least for me-- from a meter reading. So while Dexcom will not provide free strips with the G6, you will still need a supply of them to stay in control with your diabetes. I have just asked my new endocrinologist to write an Exception Letter to Medicare to try to get some Contour Next One strips covered, but I am not depriving myself of oxygen waiting for a positive reply. I will just set aside what money I can to pay for test strips myself.
I think it means the strips don’t have to be bundled with dexcom. But does not imply that medicare would not cover BG strips as prescription (part D).
I’ve not gotten strips at walgreens under Part D. It was under Part B and was a PITA to get them to run it thru insurance correctly. Safeway pharmacy was even worse–they charged over $300 for my and my wife’s strips. It took me over 3 months to get our money back after I showed them chapter and verse what the rules are for Medicare coverage of strips. (all that was before I went onto the G5, when I was getting lots of strips).
Are you sure you meant to say Part D?
I could see it being a cost cutting decision. I think the G6 sensors are more expensive? More accurate, but cost more. So I could see it being marketed to Medicare to get them to cover it, see, at least you will save money on test strips. You save this much on not covering test strips so it makes up for the extra costs of the G6. And Dexcom isn’t going to just include them when they don’t have to because it’s just another expense to them they don’t have to do.
It’s ridiculous of course, does that mean they will have to drop that cute slogan of when in doubt get your meter out? Because you have to be able to check it and calibrate it. This is just really pertinent when you are on insulin and dosing on numbers you need to know how accurate the Dexcom sensor is.
These are usually cost saving measures and Medicare is much more liberal on coverage than most other countries government run systems. Of course Dexcom is nailing insurance companies big time for the sensors here (people too). In other countries it is sold a lot cheaper, but everyone mostly has to self fund them too.
Yes, but I’m not on medicare.
How does medicare cover purchase of bg monitor (contour next, or other brands)? As part B or D ? And is using dexcom relevant ?
If monitor is B, then strips would be B. But if monitor is D, then strips would likely be D.
Medicare does not cover individual items for the Dexcom system. My part B medicare covers a monthly subscription plan which initially included the Dexcom receiver, transmitter, contour meter, batteries and a bunch of other goodies followed in subsequent months with sensor, test strips and lancets and transmitters as needed. My part B covers 80% of the subscription cost and then I have a supplement that covers the other 20%.
ah, that explains that. 
So I was asking how is bg testing covered without dexcom, and not “bundled”. Other discussions noted BG stuff would no longer be included with G6, because it does not REQUIRE bg tests for calibrations.
Medicare Part B covers durable medical equipment. For diabetics, that’s things like insulin pumps and CGMs, plus the supplies necessary for using that equipment. In the case of the insulin pump, as long as your dr. submits a statement of medical necessity, insulin is also covered as supplies for the pump. It seems to me, in light of that, that test strips should also be covered. Think of glacial pace of most Medicare changes. The G6 hasn’t been around THAT long. I would be astonished to learn that Medicare had made that big a change in coverage for one brand of one kind of DME.
Most illogical, said Spock.