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Introduction and a question about expenses for diabetes supplies in the UK and EU countries

M

Mike Hendel

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Greetings to the group,
I have Type 1 diabetes (for a good long while) and currently reside in the US. I possess US and EU citizenship and I am gathering information in preparation for a move to a European Union country. One topic in particular is the level of coverage for diabetes supplies in respective countries. I have learned that medication and glucose test strips/meters are covered to varying degrees. To accurately build out my budget, I am searching for information on the level of coverage and costs for insulin pumps, insulin pump supplies, and CGM supplies. I have identified a few resources, but welcome any and all ideas.
Thanks and I appreciate your help,
Mike
 
Mike Hendel said:
I possess US and EU citizenship
Click to expand...
Do you mean you posess citizenship for a specific EU country?
Things will depend a lot on to which country you want to move, and on what base you are moving.
If you're moving to the country you are a citizen of things should be pretty much straight forward, if you move to a different country it will be different.
 
Thanks for the note. Yes, I do possess citizenship for a specific EU country. It is likely that I will be in a different EU country. I will look into securing health insurance through the country where I have citizenship and then getting on a health plan in another EU country vs. going directly to another country and getting health insurance in that country.
 
Mike Hendel said:
Thanks for the note. Yes, I do possess citizenship for a specific EU country. It is likely that I will be in a different EU country. I will look into securing health insurance through the country where I have citizenship and then getting on a health plan in another EU country vs. going directly to another country and getting health insurance in that country.
Click to expand...
So you'll be basically moving to a country with which you have no prior ties?
In that case I'd be doing a lot of google searching on 'moving to <country x> healthcare' and the likes.
 
I can help with costs for MDI for Germany. I don't have experience with pumps.

Health insurance cost varies depending on income. I'm with AOK Baden-Württemberg. I'm not sure if coverage varies state to state or between different insurance companies.

I'm Type 1. I'm not sure if the below would apply to any Type 2s reading this.

- Test strips are free
- I got one glucometer from the hospital and I purchased a second one by choice (€10 for the same model)
- FreeStyle Libre costs €30 a quarter for 7 sensors (AOK Baden-Württemberg is switching all FreeStyle Libre users over to Libre 3 this year)
- A box of 5-10 insulin pens costs between €5-10
- Most prescriptions, including needles, lancets and tablets, are capped at €5-10 each
- Ketone test strips are free (I've been given both urine and blood test strips)
- A glucagon kit costs €5

I've never had any prescriptions or requests for tech, like FreeStyle Libre, refused or questioned by my endo, GP or insurance.

I have 3-4 appointments a year with my endo. Each appointment lasts about an hour, but this probably varies between clinics. They do a blood test and urine test at each appointment and the lab posts the results to me. When I have an appointment with my GP, they also do a blood test if there's enough of a gap between my endo appointments.

I was only diagnosed just over a year ago and I was diagnosed here, so I don't have a whole lot to go on or another country to compare to, but I've had a really good experience as a new diabetic in Germany.
 
Remember that the UK is no longer an EU country and will have different arrangements
 
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