How These Moms Manage the Cost of Their Child's Diabetes

Written by Rebecca Farley | Reviewed by a licensed U.S. pharmacist | Posted December 16, 2020

Diabetes is an expensive illness. Expenses pile up in the form of copays, doctor consultations, and, at the very least, mounting inconveniences. (We may not pay for inconveniences in money, but we do pay for them in our time and emotional well-being.) Diabetes is uniquely expensive, though. Insulin, one of the most well-publicized drug pricing crises, can cost type 1 diabetics over $5,000 per year on average, according to the Health Care Cost Institute. That is without other potential costs, like those for medical devices or ACE-inhibitors or drugs for high cholesterol.

Diabetes for kids is especially expensive. This is partially due to gimmicking; a pharmaceutical company can create a gadget for diabetes with a few new kid-related tricks, slap a patent on it, and call it a profitable day. A 2002 bill helps pharmaceutical companies pull off this hat trick. The bill, titled the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act, allows pharmaceutical companies to hold onto patents for longer if they perform clinical trials on children. Thus, our drugs for kids tend to have longer-lasting patents and higher prices. (This bill, by the way, was meant to encourage companies to make drugs specifically for kids. It should have provided drugs for children. Instead, it made children’s medications that much more expensive. Think about that next time you hear the words “incentivize the drug companies” from a lawmaker’s mouth.)

Of course, the kids don’t care about the costs of their condition. They don’t have to worry about it! Costs are the concern of parents, who have to shuffle around their finances to pay for their child’s lifelong condition. It isn’t easy. Ahead, how moms of children with diabetes manage costs.

1. Choose a low-deductible plan. Meet that deductible.

If you know you will be spending a lot on medication or healthcare, choose a plan with a low deductible. These plans are usually designed for people with chronic illnesses. Meet your deductible as soon as you can be closely monitoring health expenses. Then, shove all the rest of your doctor-related activity (prescriptions, consults, devices) under your insurance coverage until the year ends.

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2. Open a Health Savings Account

Health savings accounts (HSA) are specifically for high deductible plans. If you have a high deductible health plan, particularly one with an employer, you may be able to deposit portions of your pre-tax salary into a savings account that can only be used for health expenses. It’s one of a few healthcare hacks in this country (sadly).

HSA accounts are by far the best cost-saving option, but if you start them early (say, in your twenties), you may find that you have a healthy rainy day fund by the time the rainy day arrives. Is having to save money for potential huge health expenses a sign of a broken healthcare system? Perhaps.

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3. Look into CHIP or Medicaid

The Children’s Health Insurance Program covers children of parents under a certain income. It offers excellent coverage at nearly no cost. Similarly, Medicaid may be able to offer relief. Check for your Medicaid eligibility here.

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4. Purchase drugs from international accredited pharmacies

Insulin is not available at international accredited pharmacies, although it may be soon. You may find other diabetes treatment drugs — particularly drugs for type 2 diabetes mellitus, which is not insulin-dependent — at steep discounts abroad. Jardiance, an expensive type 2 diabetes drug with no generic, is 92% cheaper at PharmacyChecker-accredited international pharmacies. Please note that Jardiance is not approved for the treatment of type 1 diabetes due to the risk of diabetic ketoacidosis.

Comparing Jardiance (empagliflozin), Janumet (sitagliptin/metformin), and Metformin (generic) Prices

Drug Strength Quantity U.S. Average Retail Price PharmacyChecker U.S. Discount Card Price Lowest Accredited International Pharmacy Price Greatest Percentage Savings
Jardiance (empagliflozin) 25 mg 30 tablets $624.33 $517.81 $51.33 92%
Jardiance (empagliflozin) 10 mg 30 tablets $618.77 $517.81 $45.30 93%
Janumet (sitagliptin/metformin) 50mg/1000mg 60 tablets $592.37 $449.60 $36.98 94%
Janumet XR (sitagliptin/metformin XR) 50mg/1000mg 60 tablets $582.53 $449.60 $96.34 84%
Metformin hydrochloride (generic) 500mg 60 tablets $15.00 $27.35 $14.00 6%
Glucophage (metformin) 500mg 60 tablets $69.34 $30.51 $10.76 84%

Sources: Average U.S. Retail Price estimated based on pricing on GoodRx.com. PharmacyChecker U.S. Discount Card Price based on availability at pharmacies near Brooklyn, New York. Lowest Accredited International Pharmacy Price based on prices listed on PharmacyChecker.com.

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5. Use drug discount coupons like the PharmacyChecker Discount Card

Drug discount coupons can provide a hard bargain, depending on the purveyor. The PharmacyChecker Discount Card, available for use at your local pharmacy, can offer discounts as high as 98%.

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6. Crossing the border

In the meantime, diabetics are making a habit of crossing borders for insulin. So-called “insulin caravans” travel to Canada or Mexico — just over a border — for piles of much -cheaper insulin.

Michele Fenner, a mother of a diabetic, told Kaiser Health News (KHN) that she got the idea of going to Mexico for insulin when she travelled to Los Angeles for a half marathon. Three months’ worth of insulin was just $600 in Mexico, while it was $3,700 in the U.S. “I decided we need to update our passports and go and get more insulin,” Fenner told KHN. A group called “Caravan to Canada” traveled to Ontario in 2019 solely for cheaper insulin.

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How common is type 2 diabetes in children?

Type 1 diabetes is more prevalent in children, hence the title “juvenile diabetes.” Type 2, which is associated with chronic conditions and lifestyle, is more common in older adults. This does not mean children do not have type 2 diabetes. Of the children diagnosed with diabetes between 2014 and 2015, 38% had type 2, according to the American Diabetes Association.

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Can I order insulin from PharmacyChecker-accredited pharmacies?

You cannot order insulin from PharmacyChecker-accredited pharmacies yet because insulin requires cold storage. However, we expect that this will be achieved with patient safety in mind for 2021.

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Why is insulin so expensive?

For a drug that has been around since the 1920s, insulin is very expensive. (Under an ideal healthcare system, insulin would be free of cost even if it were brand new. A conversation for another time.) But its price follows the twisted logic of U.S. drug pricing. In general, the more prissy the drug, the more expensive it is. Insulin is princess-and-the-pea levels of sensitive. It is technically a biosimilar, a drug based on a biologic, pharmaceuticals made from organisms, so to speak. (Vaccines, which frequently rely on things like chicken eggs, are biologics.) Biosimilars are basically generic versions of biologics. But biologics themselves are so prissy that even their replicas can’t get lower prices. Making a biosimilar, for a drug company, is just as expensive as making a biologic. Ergo, drug companies aren’t clamoring to make insulin. The ones that do make insulin give their products a protective moat of patents. And, voila, we have a hundred-year-old drug that still costs upwards of $1,000 per month cash.

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Sylvia S.on Nov 6, 2022

I apologize to be writing on the review page
I am a pensioner, from South Africa. I'm looking for the best price for Xarelto. The state hospital prescribed Warfarin. I am totally allergic to warfarin

Please can you advise which is affordable to a pensioner.

Regards

Date of experience: November 6, 2022

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We just ordered for my 90 year-old Mom. In the U.S. generics are not always available. So using PharmacyChecker we felt that its member pharmacy vendors were vetted. This reassurance of reliability took much of the guess work out of our shopping task.

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Sandra S.on Dec 10, 2020

Always nice every time I have called or placed an order that I needed to check on. Thank you for all you do. Rick you made it so easy In the beginning of the relationship between us for me to stay with you.

Date of experience: December 9, 2020

George C.on Dec 8, 2020

This website provides very helpful information on ordering medications from non-U.S. Sources. We save 50% to 60% on name brand meds that are not available in generic forms in the U.S. We have saved thousands over the years.

Date of experience: December 8, 2020

Rod L.on Dec 7, 2020

I feel safe ordering from a pharmaceutical company outside of the U S because the prescription I am using is exactly the same as those sold in the U S, however, the price is totally different. What I had paid in the U S for 90 pills listed at almost $500. For which I have been paying $72. From a Canadian company for 5 or 6 years now, the price includes shipping and is sometimes negotiable.

Date of experience: December 7, 2020

J M.on Sep 29, 2020

This happens to be a very good pharmacy that delivers name brand meds at a reasonable price. All of the meds that I have purchased through this pharmacy have been the exact product my doctor listed. All of the products were labeled with original manufacturer's identity and location with date of manufacture and expiration. I am certainly glad that I found this pharmacy. Great job.

Date of experience: September 29, 2020

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I recommend it to many people. It sure saved us a lot and we learned a lot. The discount card saved us, too at Kroger.

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Michael B.on Sep 2, 2020

I have been able to source several meds, at 10% of the american pharma cost. I have no doubt that I bought them where american pharma buys them, and then rapes the public. Thank you p checker

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IWANT N.on Aug 20, 2020

I am happy to see the entities that are endorsed by you. But I did have a horrendous experience with Canadian Pharmacy with my latest order. After switching the location from which my order was to be chipped, the order was and still is being held by US Customs. They did give me a replacement order which I finally did receive but that order was submitted MUCH later than it should have been. Bottom line, I waited OVER THREE MONTHS for my med to finally be delivered and that cost me more money to piece meal samples from my doc and out of pocket for short term needs. And, the order I did receive cost me MORE for FEWER tablets. I know Covid-19 played a part in this fiasco but the supplier simply DID NOT PREFORM!

Date of experience: August 19, 2020

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