[Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.

Fri Jan 4 13:31:40 UTC 2019

Eileen,

Sorry, I was referring to the Dexcom convo in that last message.

Yes, I did upgrade to the Medtronic 530 G, but first, I was about a month away from the exact expiration date of 5 years for Medicare, so, my endo still had to submit a letter, but fortunately, Medicare allowed me to upgrade and switch companies with no penalties.

Second, however, it's too late for anyone to upgrade to the 530G and have it under warranty. It had to be ordered by October 26. Now, Medtronic will no longer offer it. All its other models are completely inaccessible to blind people. There's currently no work-around for us to use the 630G or 730G models. And no other pump on the market has a way to be accessible either, other than the Omnipod. Veronica has successfully been using it, but my understanding is that there is concern about the new manager system Omnipod might start using that could also render this pump completely inaccessible. Veronica can speak with much more authority on Omnipod though.

I don't know if you can still request the 530G and just not have a warranty on it. That's something you will have to look into. Even those of us who switched before the deadline, our warranty is only good for 4 years, and after that, Medtronic will no longer provide a warranty for the 530 G, so in a couple of years, we will be back to figuring out what to do.

In terms of the general question, my understanding has always been that insulin pump companies provide warranties for every 4 years, but Medicare, for some inexplicable reason, will not cover them until 5 years. But I've never heard that the pump had to malfunction in order to upgrade. It's just been that in 5 years, you can get a new one, which is usually advised, because pumps do have wear and tear.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Eileen Scrivani via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 11:01 PM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Eileen Scrivani <etscrivani at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.

Bridget, 

I thought that you had already upgraded to a Medtronics pump. Is it that you got it and now waiting on a determination from Medicare? So, you’ve heard of this business about the pump having to be malfunctioning. I thought it might have been something new as of January 1 of this year. 

Eileen 

From: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk 
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 10:29 PM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind' 
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter 
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.

That's what I was told too. We will see.

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Jamie Gurganus via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 7:53 PM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Jamie Gurganus <jamielgurganus at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.

I had to call Dexcom tech-support on New Year’s eve, because I had one sensor left and mistakenly snapped the transmitter in to it before I realize the transmitter needed to be changed. So, I called to ask whether the G5 transmitter that I stopped using in October would still work. I just happen to have a center left for it. Long story short, that didn’t work. But, the reason I am telling you all this is that I happened to ask the tech support guy if he knew when Medicare would start covering the G6, and he said they would begin covering it at midnight! We will see if that really happened!

    Jamie

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 3, 2019, at 6:51 PM, Veronica Elsea via Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Oh Lordy! My pump is new but this is ridiculous because if the pump is out of warranty, which they are after 4 years, and anything goes wrong, we have to pay. Honestly, I'm beginning to wonder why I even have Medicare or why I pay for supplemental insurance. Right now I'm paying more for supplies than I did for supplies combined with higher premiums when I had real insurance. Maybe someone has a great deal with the government on blood pressure meds or something because they're sure driving me batty. It shouldn't be this stupid or this difficult. 
> Veronica
> 
> 
> "Guide Dogs, First Hand", Veronica Elsea's classic album is now available on iTunes, along with other music from her and from the Guide Dog Glee Club. 
> To learn more, visit:
> http://www.laurelcreekmusic.com
>                Veronica Elsea, Owner
> Laurel Creek Music Designs
> Santa Cruz, California
> Phone: 831-429-6407
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Alan Lemly via Diabetes-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2019 4:37 PM
> To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
> Cc: Alan Lemly
> Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.
> 
> Eileen,
> 
> I have not heard of that and like you, I thought insulin pumps out of warranty qualified for replacement under Medicare. But I also would have thought that your pump provider would be the most up to speed on the current rules since they are the ones who benefit from your replacement. I don't know what type of pump you're using or the nature of your visual impairment but be careful about getting rid of a pump that is working for you unless you are certain the replacement you have in mind will work as well.
> 
> I poked around on the Medicare.gov site but was not successful finding anything helpful about warranty replacements of insulin pumps. If anyone else goes there to research, be aware that pumps are covered as durable medical equipment and are referenced as infusion pumps as opposed to insulin pumps.
> 
> Please keep us posted on what you learn.
> 
> Alan Lemly
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eileen Scrivani via Diabetes-Talk
> Sent: Thursday, January 03, 2019 4:16 PM
> To: NFB Diabetes Talk
> Cc: Eileen Scrivani
> Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] Medicare Coverage On Insulin Pumps.
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> A question for those of you who have Medicare & use insulin pumps. My pump will be out of warrantee near the end of this month. The company with who I get my supplies contacted me today to make me aware that I will be able to upgrade at that time, �provided my current pump is malfunctioning.�
> 
> I had been under the impression or illusion that an upgrade would be approved if my pump is out of warrantee at the end of 5 years which it will be. However DMS is saying that is not enough for Medicare to approve a new pump, there must be a malfunction of which there is a specific list of 8 malfunctions.
> 
> Has anyone heard this before? Or, is it a new guideline?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Eileen
> 
> 
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