Latest rumors are January or right before...
Ok, I've learned a little more but nothing conclusive. I called an Animas customer service rep and asked if a patient bought an Animas Ping with private insurance company money and then during the warranty period becomes eligible for Medicare, would that disallow the Animas $99 upgrade to the Vibe?
This rep did not know the answer to my question. She said if Medicare paid for pump then the $99 upgrade is not available. She said this is a Medicare rule, not an Animas rule. I am now waiting for an Animas supervisor to call me back to talk about the terms of their $99 upgrade policy (EZ Access Upgrade). They promised to call back within 48 hours.
I'm puzzled why Medicare would object to this transaction but then I received a possible hint in a subsequent call to the Asante Snap customer service. I asked why their 4-week free trial is not available to Medicare recipients. He said that Medicare has a policy whereby Medicare-certified vendors cannot give Medicare recipients anything for free.
This seems to make sense. I vaguely remember in the news that there was a lot of fraud associated with Medicare suppliers sending Medicare recipients unrequested supplies or more supplies than needed and then billing Medicare.
I finally talked to a supervisor at Animas about Medicare and the Animas Ping upgrade. He told me the $99 upgrade is not available to anyone on Medicare at the time of the upgrade. He said it was a Medicare rule. So, I concede that Michael O's original take on this is correct.
I recall that Medicare had a problem with fraud several years ago. One of the fraudulent practices was committed by Medicare suppliers inducing Medicare recipients with free stuff to get them to sign up as customers. I questioned supervisor closely on this point. I said that the upgrade program was not a free inducement since I had to pay $99 and also give my in-warranty in trade. He said that didn't matter. "A substantial discount" was also a reason that Animas did want to participate in running afoul of Medicare law.
He directed me to an Animas web page that states in tiny fine print that the upgrade program is not available to Medicare, Medicaid, or any other federal payer program. Animas should communicate this more clearly and not hide behind the fine print on the web page.
I am not going to pursue this any further but I still wonder if Animas's policy is an over-reaction to Medicare's rules to combat fraud. If the Vibe were a large leap in technology, I might act differently. It is not and I won't.
I like my Animas Ping. It performs well and is dependable. Animas, however, has a black-eye in my book when it comes to openly making this policy plainly apparent to their prospective customers. I will look elsewhere when it comes time to replace my current pump. Who knows, maybe at that time, there will be a real and attractive leap in technology to choose, like an artificial pancreas.
I questioned my supplemental insurance carrier, Aetna, closely and they said they will cover a CGM once Medicare turns it down. I will find out soon since I've ordered a replacement CGM system that I expect to ship in the next two weeks.
The plan I have differs from the standard Medicare supplement plans that are named by letters like "A" or "F." These plans use Medicare to identify whether their coverage applies or not. Mine, as I understand it, does not do that. I'll find out soon.
Yes, my plan is not a standard Medicare supplement either; it's an integrated CalPers Medicare system. But I do need to say that the comment I got from Anthem about them not being able to cover if Medicare denies was related to something completely different, a test or procedure I believe. So I don't want to generalize from that. I actually haven't even tested that as I realized later that I keep getting these "Medicare denial" notifications and then awhile later "Medicare Approval" so now I just ignore them..lol. Anyway, let's just hope for your CGM.