Diabetes Talking

Question:

John, I get my strips paid for by my HMO insurance.  The first time I asked my pharmacist, he told me my strips were not covered because I do not use insulin (type 2) but then he called me back and told me they are covered with a $10 copayment.  I have been able to refill as often as I need them.  If I were you, I would call your insurance company and keep after them. Margaret

Response:

Most insurance companies (I work for a major one) now recognize the importance of SBGM (Self Blood Glucose Monitoring) even for non-insulin dependent diabetics.  I concur…call your insurance company…most are covered at the copay level under your prescription benefit. This also applies to lancets.  Good luck.

Response:

[delayed by ISP breakdown] I’m about to get my first meter. The doctor mention the Precision but didn’t seem to know much about it. How does it compare with the Accucheck?

There are at least a dozen bg meters currently on the market.  They differ sufficiently in their use that the best way to decide is to visit a local diabetes clinic (usually at any major hospital) and ask the CDE (Certified Diabetes Education) to let you try several different meters. They are all reliable and accurate, so the only real difference, besides cost of the strips, is how well you like a meter’s "feel" and ease of use. Do not rely on the advice of a pharmacist unless he or she is also diabetic and actually uses a meter every day. The only other thing to know is that there is a slight difference in calibration among meters.  Most meters are calibrated to give results based on whole blood, which is what you’ll be using to test yourself. Others, like the Glucometer Elite, are calibrated to emulate plasma readings, which, like real laboratory blood tests, are about 12% higher than whole (capillary) blood.  So you might ask your doctor which standard he/she prefers: whole blood or plasma.   BTW, the Glucometer Elite and the Medisense Precision Q-I-D require the least amount of blood.  This might also be a deciding factor for you. So you can see why it’s important not to rely on other people in making this decision.  Try several meters, then decide for yourself. dkc David Cohler, South Pasadena, CA Media Access Consultancy http://members.tripod.com/~dcohler/

Response:

Hi M.L. — I’m about to get my first meter. The doctor mention the Precision but didn’t seem to know much about it. How does it compare with the Accucheck?

I’ve got both a B-M AccuCheck III and a Medisence Precision QID. Both give useful results, but I’ve switched over to the P QID due to its quicker tests ( 20 sec vs 2 min for AccuCheck ) and it’s *much* smaller blood requirements.  Only problem with the P QID is the price of its strips: cost me $38 per 50 at both Meijer’s and a place I can’t seem to remember the name of. ( PU! )  No 100s are available at either place.  Price of 100s at Fifty-50 and about $64 plus shipping.  Will order from Fifty-50 when I need more. Hope this helps. John Huff, Dayton OH ( type 1, dx @ 18 months, now 60 )

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In my mind, the only drawback to the Precision QID meter is that it doesn’t show date and time unless you download the meter to your PC with their software.  Other than that, I like the meter.  Very easy to use, supposedly very accurate, and very fast. Michael Bower – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I’m about to get my first meter. The doctor mention the Precision but didn’t seem to know much about it. How does it compare with the Accucheck? Thanks, Michael L. Pierich The Turkey Ridge Homepage http://www.epix.net/~michael

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