From your doctor no idea (probably never in my case).. but a lot of meters are free because the test strips are where the money is made. If you are self funding then it's the price of the strips that is important.
In my case, I'm type 2 and was on metformin to control my blood glucose for the last three year due to steroids. At that time I didn't qualify for a free meter. But now due to a huge change in medication, I've had to change to insulin to control my diabetes. Now I can get free meters.
Are you on insulin or one of the strong diabetes drugs such as Gliclazide?
I am a self funding T2 not on any medication. Accu Chek replaced my meter after I wrote to them saying it was 3 years old. No charge, and they also sent me a 50 strip cassette and a new Fastclix lancet pen. Excellent service.