How to Qualify for a Free Blood Glucose Test Meter
If you’re diabetic and either eligible for Medicare or already enrolled, you can qualify for a free blood glucose test meter. Here is what you have to do:
- Be eligible for a blood glucose test meter under Part B Medicare
- Sign up for blood glucose testing supplies through a mail order medical supply company
Being Eligible for a Blood Glucose Meter under Part B Medicare
The key to qualifying for a free blood glucose test meter is to qualify for a test meter under “Durable Medical Equipment” in Part B Medicare. Because Medicare covers blood glucose test meters, you might wonder why you shouldn’t get one using your Medicare coverage. The reason is because Part B Medicare covers only 80 percent of the cost of the meter. And before that 80 percent coverage kicks in, you have to pay your annual deductible ($135 in 2009). By paying 80 percent, you’re hardly getting a free blood glucose test meter.
But qualifying for a meter under Part B Medicare is the first step in getting a free blood glucose test meter.
Signing Up for Blood Glucose Testing Supplies through a Mail Order Medical Supply Company
The competition is keen among the mail order companies that provide blood glucose testing supplies. To get your business, many of them offer you a free blood glucose test meter as an enticement. As you probably know, good test meters can be expensive — and this is just the kind of free blood glucose test meter the medical supply companies are offering. Each company offers different brands of test meters. The choices run from ACCU-CHEK® Aviva Compact Plus, to Lifestyle One Touch® Ultra® 2 and Ultra® Mini, to Bayer Contour®, to Breeze® 2. Some companies also offer their own free blood glucose test meters. But these aren’t cheap test meters. They are actually brand-name ones but with the name of the medical supply company on it instead of the manufacturer’s.
Signing up for blood glucose testing supplies and getting a free blood glucose test meter is easy because most of the medical supply companies have an online presence. So you can sign up without even leaving your home.
So now you have a free blood glucose test meter and blood glucose testing supplies, but you still have to pay 20 percent of the cost for the supplies. The good news: There’s a way that you can get your blood glucose testing supplies for free.
How to Get Blood Glucose Testing Supplies for Free
It’s true that Part B Medicare covers only 80 percent of your blood glucose testing supplies. But Medicare also offers Part D, which provides prescription coverage. Most of the insurance plans available under Part D will cover most or all of the remaining 20 percent of the blood glucose testing supplies you need for your free blood glucose meter. So the math is simple: 80 percent + 20 percent = 100 percent!
The blood glucose testing supplies covered by Medicare include:
- Blood glucose test strips — 100 a month for type 1 diabetics and 100 every three months for type 2 diabetics. (Type 1 and type 2 diabetics may qualify for more under certain circumstances.)
- Lancet devices — 100 a month for type 1 diabetics and 100 every three months for type 2 diabetics. (Type 1 and type 2 diabetics may qualify for more under certain circumstances.)
- Lancets — one every six months.
- Control solution for testing your free blood glucose monitor.
So sign up for Part B Medicare and examine the companies that provide diabetes medical supplies. Then pick out a company that offers the best monitor and the best service for you and get a free blood glucose test meter. They’ll even send in the paperwork to Medicare and your insurance company for you!
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