One Touch meters

[brava4]

Well, I got the One Touch Mini ONLY because my insurance covered it. I used both the One Touch and the Freedon Free Style and I got a 20 point difference each time I used both of them. The One Touch was always higher.

Not sure what all that means and what to do or which one to use. I guess that is the 20% allowed by the FDA. Nuts.

[brava4]

Originally Posted by Trivettes

Brava, I filed an appeal with my insurance company and got the FreeStyle Lite strips covered...but only for one year. After that, the insurance company again balked and insisted on the One Touch. I hate the One Touch and it's more expensive than the FreeStyle Lite (I have a FreeStyle Lite card that kicks in some $$$, not much but enough to put the strips lower than the One Touch.). I gave up fighting this year 'cause my doctor balked at faxing back the insurance company form, saying the One Touch was just as good. Sigh. It's a fight, honestly. I wonder if the insurance companies have a deal with One Touch...they must. Tho why they want me to pay more for One Touch Strips vs the FreeStyle is beyond me.

So I now buy my FreeStyle Lite strips on Amazon and have had very good luck with that. But it doesn't apply to my deductible (which is high), that's the only bad thing. Still, I want to use the FreeStyle and won't be forced into the One Touch.

In addition, I also use the WalMart ReliOn Micro Meter with good results. It's my back-up meter that I carry with me. The meter was about $12 (might have gone up a little since I bought it a couple years back) and 50 ReliOn Micro meter strips are about $20. It's almost as accurate as my FreeStyle Lite (within a couple points) and I'm happy with that as a second meter.

Bear in mind that all meters are allowed to be off by up to 20%, so what you're looking for when you test your blood sugar is a trend, really. Tho my meters are almost spot-on with my labs. I always test my bg at the same time my labs are drawn every 3 months.

If you want to file an appeal with your insurance company it's worth a shot tho.

Hi Trivettes,
Just wrote about this exact thing above. I'm wondering too if there isn't some connection with the insurance companies and One Touch. I really like my Free style meter. I have decided to not fight with my insurance company about this, it's not worth the energy I'd spend. I will still use the Free Style and just use it less and buy my own strips/lancets. Yes, I have found them on Amazon too for much less than the stores.

How did you get the card for Free Style that allows some discount on strips?
Thanks for your reply.

[Trivettes]

Brava4, it is through the FreeStyle Promise program. But, the card apparently only works with insurance. . It reduces the co-pay.
I've found most company discount cards work the same way--only jointly with insurance. Tho when my insurance covered the FreeStyle strips I did get a large discount off my co-pay.

Just in case, here it is:

https://www.myfreestyle.com/be-sure-...romotions.html

When I phoned my insurance company (BCBS) this year they said they'd fax the form to my doc and then the strips would be covered but my doc said they never faxed it (who knows) and it was too much trouble for the doc's staff to call them when the OneTouch is just as good. I gave up. .

[brava4]

Thanks Trivettes. After the run around I was just too frustrated with the whole thing. I'm sure like you and me there are lots of others who go through the same thing.

Funny, I have, what I thought, is really good insurance but I'm seeing the light now. Not so good unless you want to fight with them.