Tandem Distributor, Solara Medical

Type 1 and LADA
1

I am on original Medicare and currently order all my G5 supplies directly through Dexcom. I have elected to switch to the G6 and have just ordered the Tandem Control-IQ.

Tandem sent me an email that my account has been assigned to Solara Medical who will contact my endo to get things rolling.

Several questions:

Does Tandem always use distributors to handle all orders and supplies?

For those who use Solara Medical for Tandem or Dexcom supplies, are you satisfied with them?

Does Tandem have a distributor who is recognized as being their best distributor?
Can I choose which distributor I want to handle my account?

Will Tandem distributors replace Dexcom for Dexcom supplies. I am very happy with Dexcom.

2

No, it depends on your insurance. They with direct with some, but not all. I got handed off to Byram Healthcare, but have no complaints. They’ve worked great thus far. I can literally order supplies with one touch of a button.

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(Unedited because i don’t think my middle name is a privacy threat.)

I guess that’s irrelevant to Solara, but if they’re as good as Byram, I wouldn’t worry.

3

Hi Robin, I asked five questions which one did you answer?

4

Tandem pushes Solara because both of their CEOs are buddies. Solara has a rep permanently stationed at Tandem’s HQ. There’s a recent thread about Solara on FUD. I would not do business with them from what I’ve read.

5

Do I have a choice?

6

Are you regular Medicare?

7

Yes

8

  1. No, they don’t always use a secondary distributor, only if they don’t work with your insurer.

  2. I don’t have any experience with Solara.

  3. My vote thus far is for Byram, but best supplier debates are av long-standing thing. For every excellent review, you’ll find someone who had a terrible experience. It seems to be luck of the draw with whomever handles your case.

  4. Possibly. When they ran the benefits check on you, they should have also generated a list of possible suppliers. You’ll have to call Tandem sales to see if you have another option, if you don’t want to stick with Solara.

  5. Tandem doesn’t have anything to do v with your Dexcom supply order, they are not linked (though they CAN initiate the process for Dexcom to send replacement supplies if you have an issue). It should be your choice if you want to receive your Dex supplies from Solara or whatever distributor you wind up using. It probably simplify things to have one-stop shopping, but that is entirely up to you. You would have to ask your supplier to get the scripts and make the switch over.

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9

Yes. You can use any distributor you want. CCS, Byrum, whomever you choose

10

Here’s the link, Sam’s a good guy:

11

Got an email from tandem today. They said I could stay with dexcom for dexcom supplies. I’ll look for a thread on solara. Thanks Robyn
and Thomas.

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12

Do you have a medicare supplement insurance? If so, you would have to order from a durable medical supply company that insurance has a contract with. I’ve had bad experiences with durable medical supply companies. Byram probably is the best. Hopefully your insurance has a contract with Byram.

13

I have original Medicare not Medicare advantage.

14

I get my Tandem and Dexcom supplies from CCS. Been using them for years, never had a problem. My experience with them could be the exact opposite as somebody else’s. Unfortunately, YMMV

15

Now that I’ve heard from tandem I plan on sticking with dexcom for their supplies.

16

Do whatever works best for you.

17

But I’ll still research solara for tandem supplies

18

Tandem tried to push Solara onto me when I inquired about a Tandem pump. I politely said I prefer CCS, that was the end of it.

19

That thread on solara was not optimistic

20

I would say you’re not a pushover just the opposite so CSS must be good