By Justin George, PharmD, RPh. Pharmacy Resident, Price Chopper Supermarkets
It’s that time of year again, November is National Diabetes Month, a great time to think of diabetes and its impact on our healthcare system. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there were 29.1 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the United States in 2012 or 9.3% of the population. In 2010, the number of diagnosed was 25.1 million people, representing 8.3% of the population. Over 8.1 million people are considered to be undiagnosed diabetics and 1.7 million new cases every year were being identified in 2012. Given these staggering statistics, diabetes has been the 7th leading cause of death since 2010. Research in March 2013 shows that $245 billion was the total cost of diabetes in 2012, compared with $174 million in 2010. It’s no surprise that a disease such as diabetes would have a huge impact on our healthcare system. People that have diabetes or want to prevent diabetes can turn to Price Chopper Pharmacy to help.
Medication adherence plays an important role in preventing long term complications from diabetes such as kidney damage, vision loss, and/or heart problems. One of the barriers involves cost of the medications. Though many oral diabetic medications are now generic, the copays can vary depending on your insurance plan and type of prescription coverage. Certain Medicare Part D beneficiaries enter what is known as the coverage gap, or commonly referred to as the “donut hole.” When patients enter this coverage gap, they have to may have to pay up to 50% of the cost of the medication until they reach another spending limit where coverage begins again. For these patients who have high copays, deductibles, are in the coverage gap, or living on a limited income, affording medications can be difficult. Fortunately, Price Chopper has a great Diabetes AdvantEdge program that can help.
The Diabetes AdvantEdge program offers great assistance to help patients with diabetes receive the best care to promote their health. With the RxAdvantEdge card and a prescription, you can also receive, glimepride, glipizide, glipizide XL, glyburide, metformin, and metformin ER are all available in select strengths at no cost. Free diabetic supplies include our Price Chopper diabetic lancets (100 lancets), insulin syringes, pen needles, Autolet lancing device, and GE Glucose Monitoring system for free! The test strips for the meter can be bought at a low price of $14.99 for a 50-count bottle. To participate in the Diabetes Program, all you need to do is sign up at any local pharmacy! Stop by your local Price Chopper Pharmacy today to enroll in the program or receive more information!
References
Costs in the Coverage Gap. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.medicare.gov/part-d/costs/coverage-gap/part-d-coverage-gap.html. Updated October 10, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014.
Statistics about Diabetes. American Diabetes Association. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/?loc=db-slabnav. Updated June 10, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014.
The Cost of Diabetes. American Diabetes Association. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy/news-events/cost-of-diabetes.html. Updated April 18, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014
It’s that time of year again, November is National Diabetes Month, a great time to think of diabetes and its impact on our healthcare system. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), there were 29.1 million people diagnosed with diabetes in the United States in 2012 or 9.3% of the population. In 2010, the number of diagnosed was 25.1 million people, representing 8.3% of the population. Over 8.1 million people are considered to be undiagnosed diabetics and 1.7 million new cases every year were being identified in 2012. Given these staggering statistics, diabetes has been the 7th leading cause of death since 2010. Research in March 2013 shows that $245 billion was the total cost of diabetes in 2012, compared with $174 million in 2010. It’s no surprise that a disease such as diabetes would have a huge impact on our healthcare system. People that have diabetes or want to prevent diabetes can turn to Price Chopper Pharmacy to help.
Medication adherence plays an important role in preventing long term complications from diabetes such as kidney damage, vision loss, and/or heart problems. One of the barriers involves cost of the medications. Though many oral diabetic medications are now generic, the copays can vary depending on your insurance plan and type of prescription coverage. Certain Medicare Part D beneficiaries enter what is known as the coverage gap, or commonly referred to as the “donut hole.” When patients enter this coverage gap, they have to may have to pay up to 50% of the cost of the medication until they reach another spending limit where coverage begins again. For these patients who have high copays, deductibles, are in the coverage gap, or living on a limited income, affording medications can be difficult. Fortunately, Price Chopper has a great Diabetes AdvantEdge program that can help.
The Diabetes AdvantEdge program offers great assistance to help patients with diabetes receive the best care to promote their health. With the RxAdvantEdge card and a prescription, you can also receive, glimepride, glipizide, glipizide XL, glyburide, metformin, and metformin ER are all available in select strengths at no cost. Free diabetic supplies include our Price Chopper diabetic lancets (100 lancets), insulin syringes, pen needles, Autolet lancing device, and GE Glucose Monitoring system for free! The test strips for the meter can be bought at a low price of $14.99 for a 50-count bottle. To participate in the Diabetes Program, all you need to do is sign up at any local pharmacy! Stop by your local Price Chopper Pharmacy today to enroll in the program or receive more information!
References
Costs in the Coverage Gap. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.medicare.gov/part-d/costs/coverage-gap/part-d-coverage-gap.html. Updated October 10, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014.
Statistics about Diabetes. American Diabetes Association. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/?loc=db-slabnav. Updated June 10, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014.
The Cost of Diabetes. American Diabetes Association. [Internet]. Available at: http://www.diabetes.org/advocacy/news-events/cost-of-diabetes.html. Updated April 18, 2014. Accessed October 21, 2014