Hello :) My five year old daughter was recently diagnosed as T1D on Oct. 7, 2013. I will admit that it was very overwhelming for all of us in our household, but we are adjusting and getting use to her diabetic daily routine. Our prescription coverage is less than stellar, and I have been researching ways to save money on her diabetic supplies. We do not qualify for any financial special assistance programs, however, I still want to save money anyway I can. Her glucose monitor test strips cost us $1.29 per strip x 4 times a day = $5.16 x 365 days a year = $1,883.40 x 13 years until college = $24,484.20! That money could pay for one year college tuition....
I have stumbled upon a few "Free Prescription Discount Card" sites on a Google search. They promise to save up to 75% off our prescriptions. All I have to do is sign up for a free card. What's the catch? Sounds too good to be true. They have a list of drugs that are covered under their discount card, and some of my daughter's diabetic supplies are listed. The website I am considering signing up for a discount card is HelpRx.info Anybody have experience with their card? Or have any other recommendations of other sites for discount cards?
I have not tried these. But what I have tried is various programs offered by the makers of the supplies. I have obtained a free box of 5 pens from Humalog,a card for one year that keeps my cost for Lantus to $25 per refill, a coupon for a fee box of needles, and a card that reduced the cost for accu-check test strips by about $50 a month. The only manufacturer that did not help us in some way was Novolog. They have a program but would not provide it to any patient under the age of 18!
After I found these programs, I researched other expensive meds that my family takes and found similar programs saving us a lot more money. I suggest you check the websites for all of your testing and insulin supplies and see what they offer.
It is very overwhelming but it does get better. We've been going for 2 years now (as of Saturday) and there are still times that are hard but it is much easier when you get settled into that routine that works best for you.
As to your question, I don't know about those cards, I've never tried them. I know that CVS offers a discount card and I would be more likely to try it. As Liz said, look into your manufacturers and see what they offer. I currently am using coupon cards from Accu-chek for my son's test strips (took $25 off/prescription) and for his Lantus Solostar pens. I would also ask your endo or pharmacist and see if they have any suggestions.
We did while we were on Private insurance, but mainly we use the discount cards from the diabetes supply companies we liked to use. We used freestyle, NovaMax, and humalog. All saved us money by around $10.00 per each medication per month. I also sought out every possible survey that I could do to help pay for over the counter supplies. I do around $20.00 a month in amazon gift certificates, sometime more. Now I pay for my daughter to be on the state insurance. in our state if they have a chronic illness there is no income issues. I pay the most a parent must pay but our copays are minimal for prescriptions.
Unfortunately I don't know about the cards, but if you try them let us know your experience.
Some other ways to save money on supplies are to use the generic meters available at Walgreens, Walmart or Target. The strips cost about 50% less.
Also, when you visit the endocrinologists office, ask for any freebies they have. I've gotten bottles of insulin and test strips from mine. When my pump died last summer I happened to have a doctor appointment that day and the diabetes educator gave me free insulin pens to use until my new pump arrived.
After a little more research, if I were to use the discount card at the pharmacy - the cost would not go towards our $5,000 deductible of our health insurance, because we would be using the discount card in lieu of our health insurance. After my family meets the deductible for the year, our prescriptions are covered 100 % by our health insurance. I think when we run out of our One Touch Ultra Strips, we will switch to the Kroger brand glucose meter and strips. We get double points on our Kroger credit card for buying Kroger brand products, plus they are 1/3 of the price of what we are currently paying!