I've had an artificial valve for 30 years, and have been going to the lab for 30 years. I would love to use an at home testing kit, but have no idea how to go about getting one or finding a good one. Any tips would help. I don't like to keep torturing my veins. Right now I get my blood drawn every week and sometimes multiple times a week, because I'm 4 months pregnant, and I check weekly when pregnant. I have good health insurance that would probably cover part of the machine costs. But, would it be better to just buy one off of ebay? What is the name of a good machine, and what is a good price? Thanks!
Thinking about At Home Testing
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dwhist
Well-known member
I just got one 3 weeks ago. In my case my cardiologist has a coumadin clinic that I deal with after each test. They work with a company called Patient Home Monitoring, http://phmhometesting.com/. I called them and they contacted my insurance company to set everything up. With the insurance I had last year, it would have cost me a deductable of $250 and then covered from there. With new insurance company this year, I pay $10 per test. Well worth it to me not to have to go someplace and wait for them to draw blood. I do the test once a week and either email or call them with results and the coumadin clinic calls me with any adjustment to medicine.
So, you might want to check with your doctor first. I have seen machines on ebay, but take a look at the cost of the test strips. They are expensive.
I hope this helps and I am sure others will jump in with ideas.
So, you might want to check with your doctor first. I have seen machines on ebay, but take a look at the cost of the test strips. They are expensive.
I hope this helps and I am sure others will jump in with ideas.
D.C.
Well-known member
When I wanted home testing I went to the doctor. They arranged it thru MD INR and my insurance. It goes thru my major medical so after deductible I pay just under $10 a month. I test once a week. When I need more strips just a phone call away. They are charging the insurance a great deal of money. It would just be cheaper for them to just buy me a machine, but I guess that is the way things are done. But if the machine goes bad I just call and they send a new one.
If you home test you will love it. I now test on a regular basis and it helps because I can keep track of what I eat to see if it affects my INR. IE: 3 big salads last week INR down a little. Not to much greens this week up a little. It is all working very well for me right now.
Hope you get what you want soon.
If you home test you will love it. I now test on a regular basis and it helps because I can keep track of what I eat to see if it affects my INR. IE: 3 big salads last week INR down a little. Not to much greens this week up a little. It is all working very well for me right now.
Hope you get what you want soon.
AgilityDog
Well-known member
It all depends upon your insurance. I have United Healthcare, with a $3000 annual deductible. At first, the machine was supplied and I paid a $50 per month co pay on tests. That's $600 per year.
Then they recoded the testing and charged me $258 per MONTH! Against my deductible. Impossible!!!! And you never can find these things out, no matter how many calls you make, until you actually incur the costs and run them through the insurance.
So I bought my INRatio through Amazon and still buy my strips through Amazon. Far cheaper for me, although I realize the policy of this board is to only encourage people to go through Philips or the other service.
Then they recoded the testing and charged me $258 per MONTH! Against my deductible. Impossible!!!! And you never can find these things out, no matter how many calls you make, until you actually incur the costs and run them through the insurance.
So I bought my INRatio through Amazon and still buy my strips through Amazon. Far cheaper for me, although I realize the policy of this board is to only encourage people to go through Philips or the other service.
Go For The Home Testing!
Go For The Home Testing!
Hello mom2angel,
Thanks to earlier posts in this forum, I found out about the home testing for warfarin management.
As far as I'm concerned, the home testing ranks right up there with the wheel and fire among mankind's great advancements.
Medicare, and most insurance companies, will cover the cost of the home testing if you have an artificial heart valve and are on ACT for life.
Once I found out about the possibility, I simply spoke to my doctor (who was managing my warfarin prescription) and asked him to prescribe the home testing for me. You can only get the insurance coverage if the home test machine is ordered via doctor's prescription. His office knew all about it and they took care of everything. They contacted a local rep from Philips/Alere, who in turn arranged everything with my insurance company. The meter and supplies just showed up in a package on my doorstep. I had a brief "training" session at my home with a local company rep on how to use the machine. It's pretty simple, but they can charge the insurance company for the training.
I have an Inratio2 home test meter. Philips/Alere still owns the meter, and it is "on loan" to me. If it breaks, they will replace it on their (well, the insurance company's) nickel. They also provide the supply of test strips and lancets, mailed to my home when I request re-supply. I call in the home test results weekly, and they pass the results on to my doctor. They charge the insurance company a lot for the service, but I only pay my deductible/copay amount. Frankly, if it were all my own money, not covered by insurance, I would buy the meter and it would be cheaper in the long run. But, with the insurance system as it is, the insurance seems to prefer paying more with this long-term equipment loan arrangement.
The home testing is easy and convenient, and much less trauma to the veins than frequent blood draw at the lab. Plus, I don't have to drive to the lab and wait around 1/2 hour or more for them to do the blood draw. Results are immediate (the whole thing takes only a minute or two), and the weekly home testing helps keep me in range more safely than monthly testing, based on history so far.
So, my recommendation would be to definitely go for the home testing. You'll be very glad you did.
Go For The Home Testing!
Hello mom2angel,
Thanks to earlier posts in this forum, I found out about the home testing for warfarin management.
As far as I'm concerned, the home testing ranks right up there with the wheel and fire among mankind's great advancements.
Medicare, and most insurance companies, will cover the cost of the home testing if you have an artificial heart valve and are on ACT for life.
Once I found out about the possibility, I simply spoke to my doctor (who was managing my warfarin prescription) and asked him to prescribe the home testing for me. You can only get the insurance coverage if the home test machine is ordered via doctor's prescription. His office knew all about it and they took care of everything. They contacted a local rep from Philips/Alere, who in turn arranged everything with my insurance company. The meter and supplies just showed up in a package on my doorstep. I had a brief "training" session at my home with a local company rep on how to use the machine. It's pretty simple, but they can charge the insurance company for the training.
I have an Inratio2 home test meter. Philips/Alere still owns the meter, and it is "on loan" to me. If it breaks, they will replace it on their (well, the insurance company's) nickel. They also provide the supply of test strips and lancets, mailed to my home when I request re-supply. I call in the home test results weekly, and they pass the results on to my doctor. They charge the insurance company a lot for the service, but I only pay my deductible/copay amount. Frankly, if it were all my own money, not covered by insurance, I would buy the meter and it would be cheaper in the long run. But, with the insurance system as it is, the insurance seems to prefer paying more with this long-term equipment loan arrangement.
The home testing is easy and convenient, and much less trauma to the veins than frequent blood draw at the lab. Plus, I don't have to drive to the lab and wait around 1/2 hour or more for them to do the blood draw. Results are immediate (the whole thing takes only a minute or two), and the weekly home testing helps keep me in range more safely than monthly testing, based on history so far.
So, my recommendation would be to definitely go for the home testing. You'll be very glad you did.
Thanks for the responses. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield. I have a $300 deductible and pay 10% after that. After deductible, my blood draws cost $4.62 each. I have pretty good insurance for this area, but that may be changing next year. I work next door to the hospital so I walk over on my lunch breaks. I usually get right in and out. two of the lab people go to my church, so we catch up every week. So, if at home testing is more expensive, I'll probably keep going to the lab. However, I will weigh my options, because I know it is a lot less trauma to my veins and it will be handier to be able to test at home. I see my cardiologist next Friday, so I will ask him about the machines.
For those of you that have bought the machine, about how much does it cost you per test? What did the cost of the machine run? Thanks so much
Jill
For those of you that have bought the machine, about how much does it cost you per test? What did the cost of the machine run? Thanks so much
Jill
Just a word about UHC and Philips. Philips defiinitely changed the coding and I got screwed. When the insurance would no long pay the full amount Philips dropped me without a word. I recently bought my own machine from ebay - strips too.
I bought my coaguchek xs from the only pharmacy in my area which was permitted (with the staff trained to teach the use of the machine) by Roche Diagnostics, the manufacturer, to sell them. I paid about 500 for the machine, which included a half dozen strips, a lancing device and a pile of lancets. My Canadian provincial health care program doesn't cover these machines, or the tests (though they do cover diabetic home testing, and are apparently considering coverage of these machines.) I was paying about 8 or possibly 10 dollars per strip from my local pharmacy, until I discovered that I could purchase them online for under $4 per strip. If you go that route, make sure to speak with someone who can look at the package and tell you the expiring date before you buy. On ebay the strips that are really cheap, are usually near their end date.
As to purchasing the machine on Ebay, I would have considered it if I had felt that the 500 I paid was to hard to afford. I have purchased everything from electronics to motorcylce parts of Ebay, some of which I do stake my life on, and I find that on balance, reputable Ebay sellers are selling genuine products which are exactly as described. Certainly, if you choose to go that way, keep doing a blood draw for a couple of weeks, and test the accuracy of the machine against that.
Sounds like testing at home without insurance would be similar cost, going forward, to what you are paying now for the draw. The cost of the machine is really the question, I suppose.
As to the benefit of home testing itself, I can't say enough about it, nor can any of the studies. It really is ideal for those of us willing to take control of and responsibility for our anti-coagulation therapy.
Good luck with it.
As to purchasing the machine on Ebay, I would have considered it if I had felt that the 500 I paid was to hard to afford. I have purchased everything from electronics to motorcylce parts of Ebay, some of which I do stake my life on, and I find that on balance, reputable Ebay sellers are selling genuine products which are exactly as described. Certainly, if you choose to go that way, keep doing a blood draw for a couple of weeks, and test the accuracy of the machine against that.
Sounds like testing at home without insurance would be similar cost, going forward, to what you are paying now for the draw. The cost of the machine is really the question, I suppose.
As to the benefit of home testing itself, I can't say enough about it, nor can any of the studies. It really is ideal for those of us willing to take control of and responsibility for our anti-coagulation therapy.
Good luck with it.
wow, 30 years, that's amazing considering you are still so young. Good job they are built to last 200 years! It's a different system in the uk but I got the machine, testing strips etc for free. Hope you manage to sort it out as it saves so much time!
Try to make sure that you shop for and/or buy one of the newer machines.
Coaguchek XS
or
INRatio 2
Both work great and are well worth the money. (In Canada- with prescription- $500)
Coaguchek XS
or
INRatio 2
Both work great and are well worth the money. (In Canada- with prescription- $500)
I've done self-testing since I was able to get a meter and strips somewhat affordably. It's truly empowering to be able to do your own testing and to know IN MINUTES what your INR is.
I have bought all my meters (I've run through a few, but all were 'upgrades' from earlier units) on eBay and, with the exception of one or two that were sold as not working or As Is (I bought them for the power supply and case), they have all worked fine.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about the accuracy of the InRatio, InRatio 2, CoaguChek XS, or any of the ProTime meters. All of the meters I listed have built-in quality controls, so the likelihood of getting a really wrong result is minimal. Further, these meters are designed for clinical use -- they can do LOTS of tests -- getting a meter (even a used one) for personal testing shouldn't be much of a strain on a meter (or its accuracy).
I was lucky to get some really good pricing on my meters -- they seem to have gone up somewhat in the past year or two (I may even sell one of my ProTime meters, which I don't plan to use again). Used meters on eBay typically run from $100 or so all the way up to many hundreds of dollars.
I don't have a CoaguChek XS, so I'm not sure of the price of the strips, but the InRatio strips run somewhat less than $200 for 48 strips.
A few more comments -- DO NOT buy a CoaguChek S meter. These have been discontinued and you probably won't be able to get strips that work with it. If you buy a CoaguChek S, you're probably just throwing your money away. Don't be deceived by a low price -- if you can't use it, it's functionally worthless.
I use an InRatio meter and I'm very happy with it. From what the manufacturer told me, the InRatio 2 will give you results more quickly than the InRatio, and the InRatio 2 uses icons instead of letters on its display. If I was in the market for another meter, and cost was an issue, I wouldn't hesitate to get another InRatio meter.
The InRatio strips can be used for some months after the expiration date -- I don't know if CoaguChek XS can be used after the strips expire. If you don't plan on using 48 strips before they expire, this may be a factor to consider when choosing a meter.
(Also, FWIW - the lancing device and 21 gauge lancets are usually pretty inexpensive on eBay, and possibly in stores. You may not need the more expensive lancing devices that some vendors offer).
I have bought all my meters (I've run through a few, but all were 'upgrades' from earlier units) on eBay and, with the exception of one or two that were sold as not working or As Is (I bought them for the power supply and case), they have all worked fine.
Personally, I wouldn't worry about the accuracy of the InRatio, InRatio 2, CoaguChek XS, or any of the ProTime meters. All of the meters I listed have built-in quality controls, so the likelihood of getting a really wrong result is minimal. Further, these meters are designed for clinical use -- they can do LOTS of tests -- getting a meter (even a used one) for personal testing shouldn't be much of a strain on a meter (or its accuracy).
I was lucky to get some really good pricing on my meters -- they seem to have gone up somewhat in the past year or two (I may even sell one of my ProTime meters, which I don't plan to use again). Used meters on eBay typically run from $100 or so all the way up to many hundreds of dollars.
I don't have a CoaguChek XS, so I'm not sure of the price of the strips, but the InRatio strips run somewhat less than $200 for 48 strips.
A few more comments -- DO NOT buy a CoaguChek S meter. These have been discontinued and you probably won't be able to get strips that work with it. If you buy a CoaguChek S, you're probably just throwing your money away. Don't be deceived by a low price -- if you can't use it, it's functionally worthless.
I use an InRatio meter and I'm very happy with it. From what the manufacturer told me, the InRatio 2 will give you results more quickly than the InRatio, and the InRatio 2 uses icons instead of letters on its display. If I was in the market for another meter, and cost was an issue, I wouldn't hesitate to get another InRatio meter.
The InRatio strips can be used for some months after the expiration date -- I don't know if CoaguChek XS can be used after the strips expire. If you don't plan on using 48 strips before they expire, this may be a factor to consider when choosing a meter.
(Also, FWIW - the lancing device and 21 gauge lancets are usually pretty inexpensive on eBay, and possibly in stores. You may not need the more expensive lancing devices that some vendors offer).
