Free Diabetes Supplies - How Can You Get Them?

The average person with diabetes racks up more than $13,000 in medical care annually, compared to nearly $3,000 for people without diabetes. Although the price tag sounds high, the toll of uncontrolled blood glucose levels and associated complications is much higher. Think of all the prescriptions, lab work, and doctor's visits as preventive maintenance. With this, free diabetes supplies are definitely a godsend.
Free diabetic supplies are provided for people who cannot afford to buy them or for those who are covered with insurance companies that provide such services. Most diabetes service companies are affiliated with health insurance companies; hence, people covered by concerned companies can avail of free diabetes supplies.
The question now is: how do you obtain free diabetes supplies? Most companies focused on providing health services and supplies for diabetics give out free supplies and even ship them at no extra charge. However, it is important that you are covered by health insurance companies such as Medicare and Medicaid.



Once covered, you need to find medical supply companies that cater to free or low cost diabetes supplies, such as meters or blood glucose monitors. Just remember to take note of their mode of delivery. Most of them can deliver your supplies directly to your home for free.
Why Avail Of Such Items?
Health experts say that the ultimate goal of diabetics should be to get blood glucose levels as close to normal as possible. However, if you have hypoglycemic unawareness, or if you have other medical conditions that affect your control, your target glucose levels may be a bit higher. Hence, it is important that you always have reliable blood glucose monitors, meters, and other equipments that will help you check your present condition.
Financially speaking, this method can be very costly. Blood glucose meters or monitors are quite affordable in spite of everything, but test strips can give you a big hole on your pocket. That is why free diabetes supplies are almost like heaven-sent to diabetics. So what are the diabetes medical supplies you can avail for free?
Blood Glucose Meters
Most blood glucose meters provide blood glucose readings that are digitally displayed on a small screen in either whole blood or plasma equivalent results. These meters are equipped with special audio signals to let you know when a test is complete or alert you to highs and lows.
Blood glucose meters come in all shapes and sizes. However, your health insurance provider may dictate the brand or type that you can avail for free.
Lancets
You draw blood for testing with a lancet, which is a small, fine needle. Lancets come in a small plastic case and can be used alone or inserted into a spring-loaded lancing device, which quickly pierces the skin at a preset depth.
Lancets are available in different gauges - the higher the gauge, the narrower the lancet, and the smaller the insertion hole at the test site. Higher gauge lancet will, theoretically, make for a less painful stick, although factors such as skin sensitivity and test site factor in, too. High-gauge lancets may also be preferable for children.
Most free blood glucose meters or monitors comes with a separate lancing pen, while others have a lancing device integrated into the monitoring itself. Lancing devices can be given separately for free.
Test Strips
A test strip is a small rectangular piece of chemically treated paper that collects your blood sample for analysis by your monitor. The accuracy of your blood tests depends on the quality and treatment of your test strips, so do not gamble with your health by cutting corners, even if you have obtained them for free.
Free diabetes supplies such as test strips are safe to use. Using expired strips is dangerous because you may not be able to detect your glucose levels accurately. So it is best to try checking the expiry date of your free test strips.
Diabetes medical supplies are, by nature, costly, and buying these items in large quantities is usually cheaper than the smaller-quantity packages. However, it is still advantageous if you can get them for free.
Keep in mind that free diabetes supplies are vital to your life. So try to get hold of them if you have the chance.

Flor Serquina is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Learn-About-Diabetes.com. She provides more information on topics such as free diabetes supplies, diabetic medical supplies and diabetic insulin supplies which you can research on her website even while lounging in your living room.