Moving to US from Sweden, type 1 - costs?

[Tanja J]

Hello,
I am writing on behalf of my husband who is in discussion with his current employer about an expat-contract in the US (most likely Salt Lake City).

We are currently living I Sweden and have gratefully everything diabetes related -health care, instruments and medicine - taken care of for free. In the US the health insurance will however “only” cover the insulin itself and basic supplies. Today he is using free style libre monitoring system and omnipod insulin pump. These two devices have made a big positive impact on our daily life and my husbands health and we would therefore not like to compromise with this.

I am trying to find out the costs for this, if we buy it by ourself, and looks like we land on a cost of around 6-700$ /month.

I am however really struggling to find info about practical stuff around this. Such as the availability of these devices and also if anyone can buy it or if we for example need a prescription for this. If so, is there a cost to get this prescription etc.

Would appreciate to get some guidance here if possible. Best fro someone living in the US and using similar supplies

/Tanja

 

[Brunneria]

Hello,
I am writing on behalf of my husband who is in discussion with his current employer about an expat-contract in the US (most likely Salt Lake City).

We are currently living I Sweden and have gratefully everything diabetes related -health care, instruments and medicine - taken care of for free. In the US the health insurance will however “only” cover the insulin itself and basic supplies. Today he is using free style libre monitoring system and omnipod insulin pump. These two devices have made a big positive impact on our daily life and my husbands health and we would therefore not like to compromise with this.

I am trying to find out the costs for this, if we buy it by ourself, and looks like we land on a cost of around 6-700$ /month.

I am however really struggling to find info about practical stuff around this. Such as the availability of these devices and also if anyone can buy it or if we for example need a prescription for this. If so, is there a cost to get this prescription etc.

Would appreciate to get some guidance here if possible. Best fro someone living in the US and using similar supplies

/Tanja

Hi and Welcome

while this forum has an international membership, and you may well get a response from some of our American members, it is hosted in the UK, and the majority of our members are not from the US.

You may do better to ask your question in a forum that is hosted in the US, with a large American membership.

My question would be why your husband’s employer isn’t responsible for providing a comprehensive healthcare insurance package for his time in the States? Surely they should be researching and bearing the cost for his medical supplies under the insurance cover?

 

[urbanracer]

Hello,
I am writing on behalf of my husband who is in discussion with his current employer about an expat-contract in the US (most likely Salt Lake City).

We are currently living I Sweden and have gratefully everything diabetes related -health care, instruments and medicine - taken care of for free. In the US the health insurance will however “only” cover the insulin itself and basic supplies. Today he is using free style libre monitoring system and omnipod insulin pump. These two devices have made a big positive impact on our daily life and my husbands health and we would therefore not like to compromise with this.

I am trying to find out the costs for this, if we buy it by ourself, and looks like we land on a cost of around 6-700$ /month.

I am however really struggling to find info about practical stuff around this. Such as the availability of these devices and also if anyone can buy it or if we for example need a prescription for this. If so, is there a cost to get this prescription etc.

Would appreciate to get some guidance here if possible. Best fro someone living in the US and using similar supplies

/Tanja

Hi @Tanja J
If you don't get the response you need from our site, you could try a Facebook group called The Insulin Gang, this may help you to reach out to a much bigger audience.

Regards

 

[Tanja J]

Hi and Welcome

while this forum has an international membership, and you may well get a response from some of our American members, it is hosted in the UK, and the majority of our members are not from the US.

You may do better to ask your question in a forum that is hosted in the US, with a large American membership.

My question would be why your husband’s employer isn’t responsible for providing a comprehensive healthcare insurance package for his time in the States? Surely they should be researching and bearing the cost for his medical supplies under the insurance cover?

Hi and thank you

Yes, I really tried to find an American forum but I couldn’t. Do you happen to know one? I only found ADA etc. but none of them give price examples for these kinds of instruments or how it works in practice with recipe and other costs

I agree regarding a more comprehensive cover, but this is the info we got. My best guess is actually that the insurance company cannot guarantee the availability of these instruments and therefore don’t want to commit to it (risk of getting sued etc.). But as long as they are available and my husband is given an increase in salary that can cover these costs we are OK with it

 

[Tanja J]

Hi @Tanja J
If you don't get the response you need from our site, you could try a Facebook group called The Insulin Gang, this may help you to reach out to a much bigger audience.

Regards

Awesome! I will look into this. I was using “diabetes” in all my searches for groups in US. Thanks

 

[Brunneria]

Hi and thank you

Yes, I really tried to find an American forum but I couldn’t. Do you happen to know one? I only found ADA etc. but none of them give price examples for these kinds of instruments or how it works in practice with recipe and other costs

I agree regarding a more comprehensive cover, but this is the info we got. My best guess is actually that the insurance company cannot guarantee the availability of these instruments and therefore don’t want to commit to it (risk of getting sued etc.). But as long as they are available and my husband is given an increase in salary that can cover these costs we are OK with it

I am certainly no expert on insulin, or American medical supply prices, but I suspect you will find that there is no clear cut cost for a specific insulin in a certain quantity (unless it is bought over the counter in somewhere like Walmart). This is because most Americans use health insurance, including 'co-pays' and various different payment amounts, depending on the deal/contract that their particular insurance company has with the insulin supplier. So each patient gets a different price or contribution, depending on their insurance and the agreement between the companies.

This link may give a glimpse into the complexity of the issue.
https://www.healthline.com/diabetesmine/state-insulin-copay-caps-not-enough

Please could anyone correct me if I am wrong?

 

[Tramk]

Tanja; kanskje du kan prøve Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Forum

 

[Mike d]

Two rules

1. Make sure the new employer offers complete health cover in their salary package

2. Go to a site called expat forum on the web, register and you will be advised https://www.expatforum.com/ ... there is nothing you won't learn there ... massive community about EVERYTHING associated with emigration to the U.S. short, long term, permanent. A challenge you won't soon forget ....

 

[LaoDan]

Pretty sure you can buy anything you need, on your own dime if needed, but it’s super expensive without insurance. I went to buy test strips and the price was more than double what I pay in Singapore.

make sure you have insurance, or arrange supplemental insurance