Give up the ghost? Not me

Well, I am sorry to say today's the day I finally pulled the plug on my plans to get a Dexcom CGM (color: pink). The reason: I can't afford it.

The problem is the cost of the sensors, which are good for about a week to 10 days (my personal experience says one week). A three-month supply runs $1,356 until I meet my deductible. So, rather than spend a lot of money (mine and the insurer's to just have the device sit around unused) I decided to wait for the time being.

I was explaining my dilemma (and shock and awe at the cost) to Lisa Feierstein of Active Healthcare. Turns out her company also offers Dexcom and she too, couldn't believe the price (to be fair, she's the boss so wasn't as intricately familiar with the pricing as I'll bet her staff is).

Although she was able to give me better pricing if I didn't go through insurance, it was still quite high. The problem, as Lisa told me after doing some research, is that the sensors fall under the DME benefit rather than the prescription drug benefit.

“Welcome to our world,” she told me.

I suddenly have a lot more sympathy for all those seniors complaining about how they can't afford their equipment. Well, except for the ones who can, they just don't want to.

It's probably for the best. I having been having a spectacularly bad run of luck with devices lately. In November, my cell phone finally gave up the ghost, followed in December by my laptop. Last week, on the heels of springing the clocks forward, my watch slowly ticked to a halt (between the two events, I may not be on time for work until we set the clocks back in the fall).

Fortunately, unlike the aforementioned, I am not yet giving up the ghost, or the hopes that perhaps next year, I can get the CGM.

Theresa Flaherty