[Diabetes-Talk] TandemMobi pump hands on experience-medicare and commercial insurance coverage information

Tue Feb 20 21:38:50 UTC 2024

OK folks,
There still seems to be a bit of misunderstanding at Tandem about how this upgrade is going to work. A friend of mine who has never been on a tandem pump, and therefore would be a new customer and is on Medicare. just tried to order one and they told him that he also would have to wait for the release coming this summer. I followed up with another phone call to Tandem and ask them to explain in more detail. Apparently the only people that can order right now would be those who have a commercial insurance plan that contracts directly through Tandem rather than using a third-party DME distributor. Because Medicare does not contract directly with Tandem. All those patients would have to wait till the public release in the summer. People with commercial insurance also that does not contract directly with Tandem. Also will have to wait till the summer. I have now gotten two different answers as to whether you can call now and get a file started if you want to order a pump or whether you need to wait a while to do that. Good luck.
Patricia.

Sent from my iPhone

> On Feb 20, 2024, at 12:35 PM, Patricia Maddix <pmaddix at comcast.net> wrote:
> 
> I want to share what I learned this morning when Tandem sales department called me back to answer questions about how the new pump will be handled with Medicare upgrades.
> For people who are on Medicare and do not currently have a tandem pump. They can order now and the coverage will be the way it  is currently with their Medicare plan
> For Medicare patients that purchased a T slim X 2 pump last fall before December 31 they will be able to upgrade immediately to the Mobi for $199.
> for Medicare patients who currently have a tandem pump that is still under warranty, but was purchased longer ago. There is a program called choice that will allow them to purchase the.Mobi upgrade sometime this summer for $999. Forms and application Materials are expected to be available around April to get the process started. for this group of patients, they can try the pump for 90 days and if they decide that it is not for them return it and pay only $199. if they keep the new pump then they will return their current tandem pump. Their original warranty on their current pump will remain the same so for example my warranty runs out in 2027 and that’s when the warranty on the Mobi would expire.
> The person I spoke with indicated that the same policies above will apply to patients with commercial insurance. In the past Medicare has never allowed people to get an upgraded pump while they were still under warranty but Tandem went through some sort of legal process stating that this was an undue hardship on patients and got the Medicare ruling changed last October.
> When getting a pump from Tandem through the choice program it is a business arrangement directly between Tandem and the patient and no billing goes through Medicare.
> Any patient with any coverage who purchases a pump always has the 90 day option to return it if it doesn’t work, and the 90 days starts from the day the pump is shipped.
> The above information is what I got today, but anyone interested should verify all the facts 
> themselves as there sometimes is confusion and things are always changing.
> Patricia.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
>> On Feb 20, 2024, at 9:25 AM, gmelconian619 at gmail.com wrote:
>> 
>> Is this the tubeless tandum  pod, which will work with libre senssors.  
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Diabetes-Talk <diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Patricia Maddix via Diabetes-Talk
>> Sent: Monday, February 19, 2024 10:16 PM
>> To: NFB Diabetes Division <Diabetes-Talk at nfbnet.org>
>> Cc: Patricia Maddix <pmaddix at comcast.net>
>> Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] TandemMobi pump hands on experience
>> 
>> Hello friends,
>> Wanted to share my exciting experience.
>> I met with my Tandem rep on Saturday and was able to play around with her personal Mobi pump and paired iPhone. She uses the MOBI herself. I did a cartridge and site change for her on her pump and was able to get voice over to perform all functions on the iPhone app. Measuring out an exact dose of insulin in the cartridge is not possible but the cartridge holds only 200 units. With practice a person could probably figure out how to put in 100 units  approximately or use the full 200 units by pulling the plunger all the way back. I know that many people fill their cartridges completely and then change out just their infusion site every two or three days until the insulin in the cartridge is gone. This is not FDA approved, but people do it. I took an insulin pen that I have to see if you could hook it on the cartridge syringe  needle, and in that way, measure out an exact dose of insulin to put into the syringe. It does fit over the needle very nicely, but I have not yet tried to dial up a precise dose and put it in a practice syringe that I have. Cannot see why this wouldn’t work, so would be a great workaround for measuring precise amount of insulin.  There is a new optional infusion set that is only 5 inches long that allows people to wear  the pump using a little sleeve with adhesive backing that is attached to the body resembling  what it’s like to wear a patch pump. The pump can be worn in the shower and swimming and it goes through all TSA devices. . The actual iPhone app works much much better than the simulator program that is on the Tandem website. Voiceover  on the simulator has a lot of problems although I was able to get through most but not all of the screens. On the pump app itself it goes much more smoothly. It would initially take a sighted person to coach someone along as to where the different buttons are located as you sometimes have to jump around the screen to find the done button or the finish buttons similar to on the current bolus feature. There is supposed to be a simulator app available on the iOS App Store very soon and then we can see if it works more like the real app. I am very excited as this may be a pump that I would be comfortable with using independently. The pump is very tiny and lightweight and would fit in the coin pocket of a pair of jeans. More members of our task force are going to get the opportunity to work with demos of the pump and give feedback. 
>> They do have the proper billing code for Medicare, so Medicare patients also should be able to get the pump but it’s a little murky as to whether Medicare patients with time left on pump warranties will be able to upgrade before the end of their warranty. Hopefully will get this information clarified soon.
>> This pump came on the market as of February 12 for sale to the public.
>> Patricia
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
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