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Medicare
You are Here: Life with Diabetes Medicare
Medicare benefits, insurance coverage and reimbursement can be very confusing. It is often difficult to figure out which diabetes care products are covered. If you are receiving Medicare Part B benefits, you can be reimbursed for most of your costs. This applies to you whether you use insulin or not.
If you are prescribed blood glucose testing supplies, Medicare will usually reimburse up to either 80% of the Medicare-approved amount or 80% of the retail price, whichever is lower. This means that once the annual "Part B" deductible is paid, you pay the other 20%.
If you have supplemental or secondary insurance, you may pay even less than the 20% in out-of-product costs.
Medicare and Diabetes Supplies
Medicare has guidelines for how often and how much they will pay for certain diabetes supplies. The coverage usually differs whether or not you are taking insulin. For Diabetics who are insulin dependent, Medicare will allows higher quantities of testing supplies. It is important to check with your local Medicare coverage office for specific guidelines.
Many pharmacies and medical equipment suppliers will take care of all the Medicare paperwork and billing submissions for you. This usually can be done on the Internet or even at your local pharmacy. Please check with our partner sites for more information on whether or not you qualify for this service.
Medicare and your Doctor
Since no two diabetics are exactly the same, there is normally some flexibility built into the Medicare guidelines. If your doctor recommends that you should test more often than the guidelines allow, he can usually get authorization to get more products, which will be reimbursed by Medicare. The prescription your doctor gives you will need to authorize the number of times a day you should be testing and the reasons why he recommends more frequent testing than the stated guidelines normally allow.
Whether you purchase your supplies on-line or through your local pharmacy, there are many options for you that are covered by Medicare. At Life with Diabetes, we will continue to bring you all the necessary information and resources available to make managing your diabetes easier and more convenient.