Weezie
Weezie
US insurance companies don't pay for meters and supplies either except for "valve" patients - I'm on anticoag for A fib, but prefer to oversee my own care. I bought my meter on eBay. Sometimes you can get a comparatively good price even for new ones. Remember also that the one your clinic uses is a "used" one. Strips are also much less expensive. The physician's office is not going to refuse to "let" you do this; too much legal exposure should there be a consequence of that decision. Has been my experience as a patient and sadly as an NP and observer of office business practices ("see more patients" philosophy) - that it is true that many of the coag clinic fingerstickers are not highly medically trained. Be prudent if you get your own monitor, learn the ins and outs, and be certain to schedule intermittent regular office check-ups to compare results as well as calibration of the meter. Ask for a venous blood draw occasionally to compare results. Study the subject thoroughly because self-monitoring and dosing can be dicey. Someone will be paying and unfortunately ownership will be expensive either way. I just much prefer not having to take time from my schedule every 3-5 days for a 5 minute appointment at the coag clinic! I run my husband's business office solo (now that I'm retired from NP practice) and every missed opportunity to capture a service call costs us, at minimum, $100! I paid $750for the meter, liquid and electronic quality controls, and 3 months of testing strips! They all work great, but you must be prepared to take the risk and check out the seller's reputation. Nearest I can tell, I can buy the test strips 48 count at around $200, they last a long time under refrigeration, and after the initial stabilization period, I don't plan to test daily. Talk to your doctor, not just to the tech.
