Prescription for human strips? Savings?

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alayna

alayna

Member Since 2019
The Alpha Trak strips are $50 for 50, and for some reason in my area the Freestyle Lite strips are $80 for 50. (and $60 for 50 on ADW diabetes) While working in a pharmacy this summer, I rang up dozens and dozens of boxes of diabetic supplies, always completely free with the patient's insurance. Does anyone in the US know if it's possible to have a DVM prescribe human test strips so that they may be purchased from a pharmacy under health insurance? I did also dispense animal meds a few times, also just with a copay... but maybe it would only work with pet insurance specifically, since the patient is not human.

If anyone has any other advice as far as saving on these strips, let me know. For now I want to stick with the Alpha Trak or Freestyle Lite because I have a hard time getting my cat to bleed much. I know from experience how drastically someone's BG reading can change when there is not a sufficient amount of blood.
 
I'm certain that no one's personal health insurance would be willing to pay for his/her pet's diabetic supplies, and since the AT2 is specifically a pet meter you'd have a hard time passing it off as your own need.

One of my stepkids had pet insurance on her dog and it covered just about everything under the sun. I have a hunch, though, that it would cover only if the insurance was purchased prior to the FD dx. I think if you purchased pet insurance now you'd have to disclose that the cat is diabetic and that the insurance company would exclude coverage as a pre-existing coverage. I could very well be wrong, though, so don't let me discourage you. I have NO experience with pet insurance.

And you've discovered the conundrum with the AT2. I started out with it and loved that it required so little blood. But yumpin' yimminy! the cost of the strips! I ultimately decided to buy a human meter just because it is so much more affordable (and because the FDMB guidelines are based on human meter readings), and reserve the AT2 strips for curves and other numbers I would supply to my vet.

I ended up buying a ReliOn Premier Classic and 200 strips, at a total cost of less than $50. (The cost of 200 AT2 strips would be $200!) And you just have to have a supply of test strips on hand in case of unpleasant events that might require testing every 20-30 minutes for several hours. Which means you'd have to have $100 invested to have a stash of AT2 strips, just in case. And if you run out, you can't just run down to the corner pharmacy to buy more. The only place I could find them was online, and even overnight shipping would likely be too late.

When I was shopping for a human meter I came across a Walmart ReliOn model that requires the smaller blood sample (I think it's some sort of compact one?), but it wasn't in stock at my local store.

(Yes I did plug Walmart ReliOn meters in another thread this morning, but no I am NOT a Walmart rep, employee or anything else. It's just that I went through this exercise for myself less than 2 weeks ago and it's pretty fresh in my mind.)
 
The problem is that few if any pet insurance policies cover existing conditions. Even if the diabetes developed after policy waiting period it is not clear if any would cover test strips. Unlike for humans, it is not standard that pet BG be measured multiple time daily.

"A pre-existing condition is any injury, illness, or irregularity noticed by you or your veterinarian before the end of your waiting period, even if your pet never went to see the vet for it.

"No pet insurance plan covers pre-existing conditions. However, Embrace distinguishes between curable and incurable pre-existing conditions and covers curable conditions if pets remain symptom- and treatment-free for 12 consecutive months."

above from: https://www.embracepetinsurance.com/coverage/pet-insurance-plan
 
I agree with Pookie. I switched to the ReliOn Prime because I can get 100 strips for $17 and the meter only cost me $9. It’s not been a challenge getting slightly more blood from the ear for the ReliOn, .3 to .5 is not a huge difference. I had the freestyle before which requires the same amount as the AT.
 
Pookie said:
I'm certain that no one's personal health insurance would be willing to pay for his/her pet's diabetic supplies, and since the AT2 is specifically a pet meter you'd have a hard time passing it off as your own need.

One of my stepkids had pet insurance on her dog and it covered just about everything under the sun. I have a hunch, though, that it would cover only if the insurance was purchased prior to the FD dx. I think if you purchased pet insurance now you'd have to disclose that the cat is diabetic and that the insurance company would exclude coverage as a pre-existing coverage. I could very well be wrong, though, so don't let me discourage you. I have NO experience with pet insurance.

And you've discovered the conundrum with the AT2. I started out with it and loved that it required so little blood. But yumpin' yimminy! the cost of the strips! I ultimately decided to buy a human meter just because it is so much more affordable (and because the FDMB guidelines are based on human meter readings), and reserve the AT2 strips for curves and other numbers I would supply to my vet.

I ended up buying a ReliOn Premier Classic and 200 strips, at a total cost of less than $50. (The cost of 200 AT2 strips would be $200!) And you just have to have a supply of test strips on hand in case of unpleasant events that might require testing every 20-30 minutes for several hours. Which means you'd have to have $100 invested to have a stash of AT2 strips, just in case. And if you run out, you can't just run down to the corner pharmacy to buy more. The only place I could find them was online, and even overnight shipping would likely be too late.

When I was shopping for a human meter I came across a Walmart ReliOn model that requires the smaller blood sample (I think it's some sort of compact one?), but it wasn't in stock at my local store.

(Yes I did plug Walmart ReliOn meters in another thread this morning, but no I am NOT a Walmart rep, employee or anything else. It's just that I went through this exercise for myself less than 2 weeks ago and it's pretty fresh in my mind.)
Click to expand...
Don’t feel bad, I plug it all the time. I love it. It’s reliable, accurate easy to use and you can’t beat the price!!!
 
My pets are insured.
I paid for 8 years without ever needing it.
Every month I use about 200 strips $78 for a 100, so $156 a month just in strips.
When I need insulin and syringes too its $274 in total. Just in supplies for Mauers diabetes.
So since she's insured I get 80% back.
Let's just say I'm over the moon happy with her insurance!
Not every insurance covers medical supplies without a prescription.

Mauer is insured for $3600 a year, and by my calculations she'll have $1500 left to emergencies, check ups and so on.

Its too late when the cat is already sick, but darn I recommend getting them insured!
 
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