Why can't you buy pump supplies at pharmacies?

The pump companies want to maintain control of their supplies.
They also want a continuous communication with use so that when we need a new one, we will go with them.

Most of the money made in the pump world is from the sets and cartridges. If you think of 5 years of all that crap you see it will way out cost the cost of the pump itself.

If they were sold in pharmacies we could buy different ones for different pumps , It is exactly what they do not want,

I have an allergy to MM adhesive. I can buy sets from Animas that will fit, but the tubing connectors are compatible with inset but not with the cartridge.
This would mean buying twice the supplies.

If I could pick and choose what I want at a pharmacy, it would be better for me, but worse for the companies' bottom line.

I think we should get pumps and supplies and everything else from the pharmacies.
It would make more sense,

Could you imagine having to phone every different drug company to fill prescriptions ?

That's what I was going to say, Brunetta, but you stated it better than I would have! :-)

The problem is that MOST T2s cannot get insurance coverage for pumps because Medicare will not cover them, and most insurance companies follow Medicare guidelines. There are a LOT of T2s who could most surely benefit from pumps -- their insulin needs can vary a lot, too. But bureaucratic eyes are focused only on the bottom line.

Thanks, Natalie. Still stand by my statement: Supply, demand, and costs are the bottom line.

God bless,
Brunetta

I wear a Tandem T:slim, and I usually get my pump supplies delivered. The infusion sets I use are made by Animas, and I’ve been getting them from Tandem. My insurance recently forced me to go with a third-party supplier (CCS Medical) because Tandem isn’t considered in-network for supplies and going with another supplier would “save me money.”

Oddly, my first bill from CCS was $90 for a 3-month supply (the woman on the phone said this is my 10% share of the cost). That would put the total cost of supplies at $900 – compared to the total cost of the same supplies from Tandem being a little over $400 (10% of which is about $40).

On top of the increased cost to both me and my insurance company, it’s been taking forever for CCS to get my most recent order out to me. In the weeks it’s taken for this order to be processed (so far), I’ve run out of infusion sets, and am back on multiple daily injections for God knows how long.

Had I known the inconvenience and cost would be such a burden, I would have gladly paid a higher percentage to Tandem or even to a local pharmacy if that were an option.

It depends on the pharmacy but I have asked a few in my area and they seemed to hint that there's no profit in it for them, so it all boils down to...guess what... money.

It is most likely the insurance company requiring the A1C and other tests. THey want to be sure you still have type 1!

Exactly.

Don't know if the figures Sam posted earlier are accurate (they look in the right ballpark), but assuming they are, for the sake of argument, it represents an exceedingly tiny market.

R&D costs for all the pumps and CGM technology, from all manufacturers, totals in the many billions. This must be recovered from those few hundred thousand people.

Do the math.

I've been slagged on for pointing this out in response to some (rather routine) slagging on manufacturers for charging such high prices "for things that cost pennies to manufacture".

I really wish people got a much better education in economics, business financials, etc. Not an MBA or anything, just enough to understand how it all works.

Those people are a threat to my even having these technologies exist, and that gets my dander up.

Residing in Ontario Canada I order my Animas supplies through Diabetic Express or Diabetic Depot allocated in Ontario. I price compare I receive my order within two or three days. Wonderful service. They carry all the pump supples for each manufacture i.e. Metronic etc.

Germane to this discussion is that we should not expect that hospitals have infusion sets for us. If we are brought to the ER after - say - a car accident and the set gets pulled out. There won't be any available in the hospital. So...always have a spare or two with you.

Yeah, but to be fair.......DME suppliers like Edgepark mark things up like 300-400% over cost of supplies directly from manufacturer. And insurance companies contract with THEM.....

must be a US thing,in Canada even small town pharmacies sell pump supplies.