15 ways to help afford the cost of diabetes
There’s no two ways about it, living with diabetes is expensive. Even more so if you live in a place without great public healthcare or don’t have private insurance. I’ve been in those situations before and it sucks to have to allocate a chunk of your budget just to be able to live. I’ve been a student with almost no disposable income, a new grad living paycheck to paycheck, and in different provinces where I was without provincial support for a while until a certain amount of time had passed. From those experiences, I picked up some tips and tricks I’ve used to offset the costs of living with diabetes when things are tight (or just to spend less on diabetes, period!).
As a disclaimer, I live in Canada, so I’m going to talk about my experience and tips that I’ve used here. I’ve lived in both Ontario and Alberta, to be specific. As a quick mention, insulin and medical supplies are NOT automatically “free” here in Canada like a lot of people think, but I recognize that Canada has much better supports for many people living with diabetes than other places, which I’m very grateful for. I’ve also been privileged to have private insurance through my parents or my work for most of my life, which I recognize is a huge advantage many people don’t have.
That being said, here are some scrappy tips and tricks to help pay for life with diabetes! Some of them are things that can be long-term solutions and some are temporary to get you by, but all can be helpful!
Access all government programs that you can, however possible
This seems obvious, but make sure you access all supports that your government offers, and be resourceful about it. For example, if it’ll take a long time or you can foresee issues getting sign-off from your endocrinologist, see if your diabetes nurse or family doctor can sign off instead for any forms you need filled out. If you’re in Ontario the best program is the Assistive Devices Program, which I did a full first-person overview of here, but different provinces and countries have different support systems. Some provinces are now covering CGMs if your doctor signs off that you have severe low blood sugars - some doctors will be very by-the-book on what they consider a severe low to be, but many will sign off right away if you ask since they know the benefit CGMs can have. If you get a no from one doctor, see if a family doctor could sign off instead. The main takeaway is to keep knocking on doors until you get what you need!
2. Access private insurance and double dip where allowed
Another somewhat obvious one, but make sure you’re running everything you possibly can through insurance if you have it through work or elsewhere, and if you have a spouse or partner, also running any leftover amounts through their insurance. Closely check what you can put through insurance because it might be more than you first thought. There’s no harm in calling to ask or putting through a claim just to see!
Also, this is a little off the books, but consider “double dipping” with government programs if you’re able to. I do not mean insurance fraud or doing anything sketchy, but for example if you’re in the Ontario ADP program you get $600 every quarter to help pay for supplies. Some insurance companies in Canada won’t reimburse any insulin pump expenses unless it’s over the $2,400 government amount, but some insurance companies don’t check/care and will reimburse all pump supplies. When I’ve had those **chefs kiss** companies for my insurance, I’d use the $600 for other diabetes things and run the insulin pump supplies directly through the insurance portal. Again, not exactly by the books so follow your comfort level here, but I’ve had it work with a few insurance companies and it really helped with being able to use that $2,400 for other diabetes expenses.
3. Advocate for what you need through insurance with your HR team
If there are diabetes expenses not currently covered in your workplace benefits, ask for them! When CGMs were brand new, my insurance didn’t cover them automatically so I set up a meeting with my HR rep and explained the importance of this benefit to me. They then negotiated to have it added to the company plan the following year. Might not work every time, but definitely worth the conversation!
4. Use your insurance to visit non-medical doctor practitioners (e.g., podiatrist, eye doctor)
If you do have insurance, make sure you use it to the fullest by visiting all the medical providers you can to help manage your diabetes. Many programs cover dieticians, podiatrists (for your feet), and eye doctors, which are all providers we should be seeing regularly if possible when living with diabetes.
5. Reach out to pharma companies to ask for discounts or free sample supplies
I have had so much luck over the years getting discounts directly from pharma companies by just asking for them. This is especially great at conferences when you can speak to reps, but even a phone call can work to inquire if they have any discount programs, mailing lists, or free samples they can give you. Love it or hate it, big pharma has a lot of money to spend, so they often have stuff set aside for customers if you ask for it (nice and discreetly). Even just signing up for the mailing list can score you the odd 10% off coupons or discount codes.
Look for programs like this one to help with costs for Dexcom!
6. Only put as much medication as you need into your devices
When I first started using my insulin pump, the instructor showed me how to fill up the reservoir with insulin and she filled it right to the maximum amount. Me, being young(er) and stupid, proceeded to not think twice and also filled the reservoir to the top for years despite only using about ⅔ of the insulin because I just thought that was what the pump required. SO STUPID. I was basically throwing away a third of my insulin each site change, and because it was an Omnipod I wasn’t able to get it out before discarding the old site. Don’t be like me, only fill to the amount you need. I now check each time to see how much I’m discarding at the end of the three days, and if it’s more than 20 units or so I’ll put in a bit less for my next site change.
7. Check out Facebook groups for people giving away extra supplies
The diabetes community is amazing, and I’m always so impressed by the people willing to give away supplies they no longer need. Join Facebook groups in your area by searching “Diabetes + your location” and then keep your eyes peeled. Things tend to move fast, but you can also post a request for certain things if you’re looking for particular items. When I moved from my Omnipod to my Tandem pump I gave away almost 3 boxes of unused pods and supplies, and I see people doing this often!
I was able to find the following groups by typing “Toronto Diabetes” into the Facebook search bar!
8. Check out discount pharmacies or discount programs
If you’re always buying your supplies directly from the pharma company, it might be worth it to check out if there’s a discount pharmacy you can use instead. In Canada I use Diabetes Express and they sometimes have sales or sell items a bit below the retail price (like $5 off, so nothing crazy but every little bit helps!). Alternatively, some pharma companies offer discounts by doing subscribe-and-save programs, so that can be worth looking into as well.
9. Attend diabetes events for samples or discounts
When it comes to scoring free diabetes things, there’s no better place to go than local conferences and diabetes events. Similar to the Facebook groups, just Google “diabetes events in [insert city]” and see what you can find. Many places have both academic and clinical conferences that welcome patients for free, and most are sponsored by pharma companies. The hauls can be great (once I got a free box of syringes and 500 alcohol wipes!) or not-so-great (free granola bar, anyone?), but it’s worth a shot if you have time to kill. Also a great way to network with those pharma reps for freebies/discounts in the future!
10. Opt for non-brand name supplies where possible
It can be tough to remember that diabetes is a business for many, and that means companies want to make a profit. For things that aren’t mission critical, see if you can find a cheaper alternative. I always opt for no-name lancets, ketone strips, alcohol wipes, and low supplies. I can’t even imagine how much I’ve saved using cheap Rockets candy for five cents each instead of brand-name Dex4 tabs to treat lows. Don’t mess with things that are working well for you if they’re brand name, but being open to exploring other options for less important things can save you a lot of money!
11. Save receipts for leftover amounts after insurance
If you have leftover amounts after you’ve submitted to your regular insurance, keep your receipts! If it totals over a certain amount (I think it’s around $2000 CAD per family) you can claim it on your taxes when you go to file and get some money back. This applies for non-diabetes things as well, like eye exams or dental work, so it can be easy to hit the threshold if you don’t have insurance or if you go above what your insurance will pay in a few categories.
12. Use supplies for as long as safely possible
This is of course to your own comfort level, but when money was tight I would often push my site changes by a day or so, use the reservoir syringes on my pump twice instead of once, etc. to save some money. As long as you aren’t seeing an increase in infections or higher blood sugars, this can be a good way to stretch your resources and reduce waste (win-win!).
13. Put diabetes supplies on cashback credit cards
I love putting my diabetes supplies on credit cards and getting the cashback from the rewards programs, especially when I know it’ll be reimbursed by insurance afterwards. Some provinces and locations will just bill the supplies to the government and you never need to pay for them upfront which is ideal, but if you have to pay upfront you may as well get the rewards! You can use that money to pay for more diabetes things if needed or for other fun, non-diabetes things.
14. Use warranties!
When it comes to having diabetes, warranties are your best friend. It’s obvious to use warranties for big things like your insulin pump breaking, but did you know that you can save a ton of money by using warranties on smaller things like pump and dexcom sites? When you get a defective sensor or site, actually call the company and have them replace it, even if it was towards the end of its lifecycle. It can be annoying to wait on the phone to talk to someone, but when each site is $50+, it’s worth the time to save the money!
15. Get involved in patient partnership research or non-invasive clinical trials
I spoke about this a bit in my article on ways to get involved in the diabetes community, but patient partnership research and clinical trials can provide some income that can help to pay for diabetes supplies if needed. Depending on the clinical trial, you might even get set up with free diabetes tech and supplies which can be helpful, just make sure you’re okay with what the trial requires you to do. I once signed up for a diabetes exercise trial and had to go across the city to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes four times a week, and although I got a lot of free supplies, I won’t be signing up to do it again anytime soon (haha). If you’re in Canada, I recommend looking into Diabetes Action Canada for patient partner opportunities and LMC Diabetes for clinical trials.
