My endo’s office gives away free meters as well. you’re 100% right when you say that the companies really do make their money on the strips. i am really lucky, in some instances only, to be on medicare b/c they cover all my strips per month (10 per day, although i wish it were more)
just got back from my endo ten minutes ago. after all of my on-line researching went, i asked my endo for either a FreeStyle Lite meter or an AccuCheck. no problem; they always have dozens of free samples (of everything) . only one problem: I am on Medicare; Medicare does not cover anything other than OneTouch test strips. (they are the cheapest, apparently) so i left my doc’s office w/ another prescription for my One Touch strips, leaving w/ my tail btw my legs, UGH. 
I have tried the Verio meters and they stink. i have not experienced accurate readings from either one that i tried. they are really cool with a dozen awesome functions, but the bottom line is that their readings do not come close to being accurate. what has come pretty darn close, though, is the new One Touch Ultra 2 that they gave me, and Medicare covers the 300 strips i use a month, 100%, no co-pay. so, when your insurance changes, i recommend that you don’t waste your time on the Verio meters. go w/ the One Touch Ultra 2. (and it syncs w/ my dexcom cgm very well, too)
good luck. hope this might help you w/ your meter decision.
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Thanks. Been using the Livongo InTouch for now. It’s been pretty good, though, at first, I was getting very low readings from it, Spoke with one of their coaches and they recommended that I wipe the first drop of blood off, and test using blood that comes out after that. I’ve had readings that are mostly closer to my expectations since.
was at my ends today and a new PA was there to do my finger stick. she did exactly that: she wiped the first drop of blood off on my finger before squeezing another drop out for putting in the meter.
this was the very 1st time anyone has ever done this for me/to me. i don’t even bother using alcohol wipes before i test. i do wash and dry my hands, but i don’t go so far as to do the wiping. i need to live in a more practical world. but i guess it depends on how often you test and if you plan to be in an environment where it is possible/comfortable to go through the whole rigamarole.
My insurance only covers one touch also but I dislike them so strongly that I chose to buy my own out of pocket. I buy truetest strips dirt cheap on Amazon. they work great for me, the meters aren’t exactly feature packed but they’re accurste and consistent and nobody can tell me how many I can have.
hummmm. interesting. how much do you pay for your strips out of pocket. i use about 300 strips per month. i hate my One Touch, too, but so far, that’s my insurance coverage allowance; Medicare only pays for the One Touch products. but i don’t pay a penny for the strips at all, so thats a nice bonus.
anyway, many of you guys who have responded to this sight, have suggested that i pick a meter and just stick w/ it. so, i chose the One Touch Ultra 2; its the best of the worst.
sorry to be double posting, but i have another question: which meter do you use for these cheap test strips? i would love to look into this for myself.
I pay $45 for 300 steips on Amazon. With free shipping. They use either the “trueresult” or “true2go” meters.
I prefer the true2go meter because it’s the smallest meter on the market-- it actualy clips to the top of the strip tube
I picked one of the True2Go meters up at Walgreens on a day at work when I hadn’t realized I was out of strips… Though sometimes it seems like a random number generator, I do like it’s small size. It’s the meter that goes with me on bike rides for that convenience!
I have only rarely gotten random numbers with them and every time it was due to dirty hands…
If you get the Freestyle Lite meter free from your Dr. You can get the test strips for a co pay if $15 a month. The Promise Program is on their website. I use this and get 300 strip monthly for $15. I hope this helps.
this sounds wonderful. do you have to have financial challenges to get onto the “promise program?” or can you just sign up? my doctor would be happy to give me the meter free of charge. its the test strips that bleed the $$, which is why i stay on the One Touch, b/c the 300 monthly strips are free.
Gail, just went to their website; unfortunately they don’t cover anyone on Medicare, as i am. oh well. it was worth a shot. 
I’m sorry, that stinks!
I get Accu-Chek Aviva test strip from Walgreens covered under Part B of Medicare. Is it possible that you have a Medicare Advantage plan with a limit to One Touch strips only? I do pay a copay for my strips. Medicare pays 80% of an agreed upon price. I pick up the remaining 20%. I just picked up a 90-day supply, 1200 Accu-Chek Aviva strips, and I paid about $50.
Have you checked the accuracy of you meter with the glucose control solution?
embarassingly admitting that i have never bothered w/ the blue stuff. wouldn’t that just make the most sense! 
I don’t understand the vale of the control solution— the solution I have says it should read between 93-125… That’s a pretty wide range and not tight enough to instill much confidence in accuracy for me. All meters are prone to inaccuracy to some extent… For me repeatability is far more critical. With onetouch id get numbers like 85 then 120 from the same drop of blood…
thanks, Sam. i appreciate your response. i have had the exact same reaction with using the same amount of blood from the same finger while testing my BGs. generally i will do it when my #s seem slightly off from the way that i am feeling. (and, of course, to see the accuracy of my meter; purely out of curiosity)
Of course if your actual BG was 100-105, that’s within the +/- 20% on each test.