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Cost of Libre Sensors

N

Nick25

Active Member
Interested in others views on the cost of the Libre Sensors . It is not long ago that they were being advertised by Libre at around £48, which struck me as high even then, but I thought that as they became more widely used the economies of scale and therefore the reimbursement of earlier development costs might begin to bring that cost down . Instead they are now being offered at £58.
From personal experience Libre are not offering a foolproof monitoring system . I accept that they do replace ones that fail early , but in the event of doubt or discrepancy, their own advice is to carry out a blood glucose test , so they can hardly claim they we are paying a premium price for a perfect system.
Is anyone else concerned that Libre seem to be earning £1152 per annum per patient ( less whatever bulk discount NHS negotiates)?
 
I self fund the Libre 2 Plus direct from Abbott, they are £51.74 each exc VAT but last for 15 days, so daily that works out the same as the 14 day Libre 2.
Which Libre are you referring to, and does the £58 you quote include VAT I wonder?
 
Does the pharmacy slap on a charge? It might be different here in Canada, but my little independent pharmacy, close to where I live, charges quite a bit more than the larger well known pharmacies.
 
Rachox said:
I self fund the Libre 2 Plus direct from Abbott, they are £51.74 each exc VAT but last for 15 days, so daily that works out the same as the 14 day Libre 2.
Which Libre are you referring to, and does the £58 you quote include VAT I wonder
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Fortunately I am prescribed my sensors on NHS and receive free prescription so do not pay personally , but I am still acutely conscious of what must be the massive cost to NHS. I was stung into putting my thought into words by Libre’s prominent ad in the middle of the latest email ( and from memory every one recently ) from Diabetes.co.uk which advertised £57.95 and presumably that does not involve a middleman. Getting greedy maybe?
 
Melgar said:
Does the pharmacy slap on a charge? It might be different here in Canada, but my little independent pharmacy, close to where I live, charges quite a bit more than the larger well known pharmacies.
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Hmm, didn’t realize it wasn’t a set price. I currently self fund and purchase from local Safeway pharmacy about $75 per sensor.
 
MommaE said:
Hmm, didn’t realize it wasn’t a set price. I currently self fund and purchase from local Safeway pharmacy about $75 per sensor.
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Really , the pharmacies in Vancouver charge $104 per Libre sensor, my local pharmacy charges $134 per sensor. I buy mine in Vancouver. Wow, what’s with the price difference.
ed to add last sentence.
 
Melgar said:
Really , the pharmacies in Vancouver charge $104 per Libre sensor, my local pharmacy charges $134 per sensor. I buy mine in Vancouver. Wow, what’s with the price difference.
ed to add last sentence.
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That is a big difference. I’m in BC Interior so you’d expect it to be a bit more here than it is in the city.
 
Just thought I’d clarify for the two members from Canada @Melgar and @MommaE in case you don’t already know, that VAT (Value added tax) is 20% in UK. As a diabetic you can buy Libres VAT free.
 
I have self funded the Libre 2 for the past 13 months since I was diagnosed with type 2 insulin dependant diabetes and other serious health issues which resulted in needing immunotherapy and taking steroids for the past 11 months . I pay £51.71 per sensor as I claim back the tax on each order. Wearing the sensor has meant I only had to be seen at the hospital once in the past year, as I share my data with the diabetic team. The NHS pay about £35.00 per sensor but I think it’s more cost affective than hospital visits, missed appointments staff costs and valuable time. Even though I have to self fund as a pensioner and someone who worked in the same job for 50 years and paid my dues,I couldn’t manage my diabetes without it!
I’m hoping that due to my health issues I will be lucky enough to get NHS funding in 2025
 
I am type 2 and was put forward for the Libre 2 on prescription as my diabetes team were extremely concerned with the my BG being in the mid-high 30's whilst I was on chemo. It was agreed that I receive my L2 on prescription.

During a Q&A session with other new L2 users, I asked the question, "How can the NHS justify prescribing L2 on prescription at £58? The reply was, "The L2 cost around £34 to the NHS." She went on to say, "The cost to the NHS of treating patients in A&E with serious diabetic complications arising from poor diabetes management far outweigh the cost of prescribing the L2.
 
I wholeheartedly agree. NHS only prescribe if using insulin. Has ANYONE managed to get even short term prescriptions ( a month or two) if only on metformin??? Am I missing something or is it like ....not allowing seatbelts in cars unless you've had an accident. I have learnt so much by using self-funding libre2 sensors for 4 weeks. BUT , there's no way I can keep self funding.!!!
 
I don’t think you will get the funding without having to inject insulin, it’s taken me more than 18 months to finally get my Dexacom for my type 2 on the NHS despite being insulin dependent and being diagnosed with kidney cancer and undergoing immunotherapy. I had been self funding the Freestlye Libre 2 during this time and like you I learned more about my diabetes and what foods affected me than any NHS course or diabetic education could have taught me. I was sick of being told how well I was managing my diabetes, nobody seemed to join the dots and realise I was managing it because of the monitor! In the end I saw my endocrinologist and let him know my feelings and how it was affecting my wellbeing ( 1st time in a year I had been seen) and he agreed to try and obtain the funding on my behalf. To me it‘s ridiculous not to fund diabetes patients when as in your case your glucose levels are unstable. In the short term you could get your friends and family to sign up for Abbots free trial I did this and got some free. Also when ordering them I ticked the box and got them without the VAT. it made them a little bit cheaper. Good Luck
 
I would also add my DN monitors my levels remotely as app shares data with her. means I don’t take appointment slots.
 
Tng1971 said:
I would also add my DN monitors my levels remotely as app shares data with her. means I don’t take appointment slots.
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My diabetes team also monitors me remotely by the app. With their help I'm finally getting down into the 9's and 10's instead of the 12's and 13's.
 
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