Diabetic Diet & Blood Gluecose

1. Jessica Said,

   Some insurance plans will pay for a glucose meter for diabetics, but they won’t pay for a meter for non-diabetics. So, what happens is that the meter company turns in the prescription to your insurance company for reimbursement.

   My insurance company will pay for a new meter every year, if I want one.
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2. Violet Said,

   You need a prescription for a meter because of the disposable strips that you use everytime that you check the blood sugar. You usually use 7 strips a day and each strip costs about a dollar or 99 cents… they are very very expensive and the costs add up. With insuance companies they cover the prescrption to get you the right about of strips you need each month. There are many companies that make meters… and each company has different strips… so you have to have a prescription for the right things that you need. This also goes for a lot of other diabetes supplies…
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   Type 1 diabetic

3. emt_me911 Said,

   You don’t need a prescription but they are cheaper if you have one (assuming you have health insurance). I have 4 meters (in case of loss or breakage or malfunction). I’ve bought meters at a drug store without a script and I didn’t have problems.

   You can get them at any drug store and they range in price from about $20 (One Touch mini) to $150 (One Touch Ultralink).However, if you have insurance, all you pay is your copay.

   The strips are really expensive and you need a script for those. Test strips are roughly a dollar a strip so a box of 100 can cost you $100.

   EMT
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4. Miz Lamb Said,

   We need for the insurance companies to pay for the other testing supplies that go with the meter. Actually the Rx is for the test strips that match the meter.

   You can walk into any pharmacy and purchase these items, BUT!!! Test strips cost an average of $1 each and come in packages of 50. That is a $100+ per month as the recommended testing pattern is 4 per day. Then there is the cost of the lancets to match your meter’s lancet holder.

   Add that to the cost of the medications and you race toward $500/month to treat diabetes.
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5. john e russo md facm faafp Said,

   I have reported Goldwire to ‘Abuse’ and I would appreciate it if others did as well. This is a potentially dangerous forum in which to seek healthcare advice and we must police Yahoo! Answers ourselves. The other answers are quite thoughtful. No prescription is required to purchase a glucometer or supplies but if you are a diabetic and you have insurance then a prescription is required in order for the insurance company to pay for most and sometimes all of the cost of the meter and the supplies. It is very true as several have said that it is not the choice of the meter that is important but rather the price of the strips. Some are more expensive than others but this is an expense that you will have to bear for the rest of your life. I tell patients to purchase a meter based upon the cost of the strips as all meters should provide equally reliable results. Physicians often receive glucometers for free to hand out to patients and these typically are the glucometers with the most expensive strips which you end up buying month after month. There are also clinics that may supply glucometers and strips to individuals without insurance at little to know cost. I refer my patients to one which gives them the glucometer for free and sells the strips for $18 for a package of 50 which is a very good buy. I wish you the very best of health and may God bless.
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6. Gary B Said,

   The pharmacy may file against your insurance. In that case, they just don’t file a "out of pocket" claim against you.

   There may also be state laws concerning the dispensation of medical devices that contact blood, as there are in my state. While these laws were intended for illegal needle purchases (by drug addicts), the wording is so "broad" that it ALSO includes diabetic test meters.
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