According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 130 million adults in the US are living with diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes can be a challenging condition to manage. It’s not just the disease itself, either—the costs of managing diabetes can be expensive. Whether you’re looking for ways to save or want some tips on how to make your medications last as long as possible, here are some helpful strategies for keeping costs low and effective:
Finding a Suitable Insurance Plan
The first step in finding a suitable insurance plan is determining whether your employer offers any health plans. Suppose you are self-employed or work for a company that does not provide an employee-sponsored health plan and is not eligible for a public option through the Affordable Care Act. In that case, you will have to seek out your insurance coverage.
If none of these avenues pan out for you, consider looking into high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), which require higher annual deductibles but offer lower premiums than traditional HMOs and PPOs with low monthly payments. HDHPs tend to be more common with employers offering more flexible benefits packages because they are cheaper overall.
Selling Your Unused Test Strips
If you have extra test strips you do not need, selling them is a great way to make money. Many sites allow you to post and sell your unused test strips in a private setting. Only people looking specifically for used test strips can see your listing and make an offer. The money you make from selling diabetic test strips can be used toward anything else related to your diabetes care expenses or even as a little extra spending money.
With the right amount of patience, selling unused test strips can be extremely lucrative. The best thing about it is that there’s no limit on how much money you can make through this method. Just remember, before posting anything online, both sides must understand each other’s expectations before any agreement is made between them, so everyone knows exactly what they’re getting into.
Working With Your Doctor
Working with your doctor to manage your diabetes care expenses is one of the best ways to reduce costs. Your doctor can help you understand what health insurance options are available and how to maximize benefits for prescription medications, lab tests, and more.
If you need low-cost medical care or assistance programs, ask your doctor if there are free clinics in your area that provide services like blood glucose monitoring and prescription drugs at reduced rates or free of charge. Some pharmacies also offer assistance programs, which provide counseling on nutrition and exercise, along with discounted blood glucose monitors and lancets.
Making Your Prescriptions More Affordable
The first step in your journey to more cost-efficient diabetes care is understanding the medications you’re taking. You can use different drugs to treat the same condition; some are much more expensive than others. So it pays to ask your doctor if there is a cheaper alternative that could work just as well for you.
If your doctor prescribes a medication that costs several hundred dollars per month, ask them if splitting the prescription with another patient will reduce the price (and save both patients money). You could also ask your pharmacist if they have any co-pay coupons available. Some pharmacies offer these discounts to increase loyalty among their customers.
You might also consider asking your doctor if it would be possible for you to take less of the drug over time rather than having higher levels in your system all at once. This would reduce upfront costs and allow for lower monthly fees by spreading out expenses into smaller chunks over time instead of paying the total price simultaneously. Finally, some doctors will reduce dosage levels when possible; this may not always apply here but should be considered during initial conversations about new medications.
Buy Generic Brand Drugs
The global generic drugs market is valued at $439.37 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow to $670.82 billion by 2030. This growth is likely fuelled by the fact that generic brands are cheaper than their name-brand alternatives.
Generic drugs are less expensive than brand-name drugs, but they’re no less effective. Generic drugs contain the same active ingredient as their brand-name counterparts and have the same side effects so that people with diabetes can use them.
Generic drugs are just as good as brand-name drugs when treating your condition and preventing symptoms. It’s a much better option to use generic medications when you have Type 2 diabetes because they don’t require you to spend extra money on co-pays or insurance premiums.
Conclusion
You can take steps to manage the costs of your diabetes care. Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires lifelong management in most cases. You must do whatever you can to keep up with the expenses of caring for yourself and your loved ones, so it’s good news that there are ways for you to save money on all those things we talked about above.