Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by tmana on May 21, 2008 at 6:23pm

These will not have the cheapest consumables (strips), but both Lifescan and Freestyle are giving out free meters to PWD and their caregivers.

Your choice of Abbot Freestyle Lite or Freestyle Freedom Lite here:
https://www.fisurvey.com/freestyleworld/landing.asp?utm_source=dlif...(3)&utm_campaign=freestyleworld&code=hd74kd

Your choice of One Touch Ultra or One Touch Ultra Mini here: https://www.onetouchgold.com/simplestart?utm_source=DM_ICM01&ut...

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Permalink Reply by tmana on July 29, 2008 at 9:45am

This particular Freestyle campaign has ended; however, Abbott is still making these available through the Freestyle Promise program (http://www.freestylepromise.com). This program also assists with the cost of strips.

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Permalink Reply by tmana on July 31, 2008 at 6:57am

Interesting: the http://www.freestylelite.com promotion appears to be back up and running.

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Permalink Reply by Diabetic_Iz_Me on May 23, 2008 at 9:25am

Christopher- You Rock! you are doing a Great thing!

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Permalink Reply by Jenny on May 23, 2008 at 11:40am

Free meters are easy to get. Free strips would actually help people!

Unless these meters use the most inexpensive strips, like the Wal-mart meters do they aren't a good deal for people who have financial issues keeping them from getting good treatment!

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Permalink Reply by tmana on May 23, 2008 at 1:13pm

I do agree with the strips-cost issue. That is something that folk are trying to work at from several angles; unfortunately, market leverage is somewhat fragmented due to varying insurance coverage levels (under my current plan, I don't pay a cent for my strips -- under my previous plans, it was cheaper to pay outright than to have the doctor write the scripts for them) and to the wide variety of meters on the market, each with its own proprietary strips.

On the other hand, I've been seeing fewer and fewer free meters -- more usually they are "free with purchase of strips" or more often "reduced price with purchase of strips".

I do know that getting strips from a specialty mail-order house is generally cheaper than going to the local pharmacy or the major onlines (drugstore.com, cvs.com, etc.). It looks like American Diabetes Wholesale is stocking the "generic" (little-known brand) items...

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Permalink Reply by tmana on May 23, 2008 at 4:34pm

Simple Diagnostics will send their Clever Chek Auto Code meter free to US residents through July 31, 2008. This is a basic meter w/ 450 memories, a lot of different averaging capabilities, and cheap strips ($16.79 per 50 at American Diabetes Wholesale, compared to $30.85 for 50 Accu-Chek Aviva strips, or $28.78 for 50 Freestyle strips). The downside is there is no data cable capability to upload the results into any management program/database. The URL to get the free meter is http://www.simplediagnostics.com/documents/74.html

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Permalink Reply by tmana on July 29, 2008 at 8:27am

Nine weeks out and have not received the meter, even though I did get an auto-send confirmation e-mail. I tried calling their customer support line, and they had no incoming audio (could not hear me). It sounds like the phone rings, picks up, and then transfers to an offsite callcenter... but since ALL of the phone numbers are the same...

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Permalink Reply by Kristin on July 29, 2008 at 9:17am

Agreed!

Check out the Maxima meter, which has test strips that are among the cheapest and reported to be highly accurate by David Mendosa!

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Permalink Reply by Cara on November 6, 2008 at 12:44pm

i'm newly diagnosed and the meter prescribed by my doc is not covered by my insurance. I can actually get a meter for free??? The insurance did pay for the strips which are one touch ultra. Is there a catch to get a free one touch ultra meter? :)

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Permalink Reply by tmana on November 6, 2008 at 1:35pm

No catch at all. Either go to https://www.onetouchgold.com/simplestart?utm_source=DM_ICM01&ut... to sign up for a free meter there, or you can check the chain-drugstore ads -- many are offering reduced prices, coupled with mail-in rebates that result in getting the meter for free.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly on November 9, 2008 at 11:25pm

Bayer was giving either a free Contour or Breeze 2. A few weeks ago, I ordered the Breeze 2 & got it fairly quickly (I actually like it a lot too). I think now, they are giving a free coupon but you need a prescription from your doctor to take to the pharmacist. My insurance is a joke, so I usually get the strips at a wholesale site online. The Breeze 2 disc were around $24 for 5 discs (=50 test strips).

Check out the site http://www.bayerdiabetes.com/us/bayerglucosemeters/diabetessupplies. It's been a great help to me getting the free meter because my insurance only covers $5 of the meter cost & strips.

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