Diabetes can be expensive to manage. Some programs can help you afford your diabetes medications, devices, and supplies. Here are some tips to help possibly lower your diabetes costs.

Managing diabetes can be expensive and costly, especially if you take certain medications or use different supplies and technology to help live with the condition.

People with diabetes who may not be able to afford what they need to manage the condition can experience worse outcomes, affecting their daily lives and raising the risk of longer-term complications.

This can mean someone might be rationing or skipping doses of medication, not checking blood sugars, or being unable to keep glucose levels in range because certain tools or supplies are unaffordable and out of reach.

However, you do have options when it comes to finding financial help and resources for different medications and supplies, depending on what you may need for your diabetes.

Here are some possible resources to help afford your diabetes medications and supplies. Your options may be a specific type of help or a combination of these resources:

  • certain programs offered by the federal or state governments, such as Medicare
  • discounts from a particular company that makes a medication or supply
  • different diabetes organizations, including the American Diabetes Association or the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists
  • your healthcare team, including advice on using different forms of a medication or samples they may have available in their clinic or office
  • diabetes community members who can direct you to other individuals who have navigated affordability challenges

Pharmaceutical assistance programs help people without insurance and with limited income afford their medications. Some programs allow Medicare Part D enrollees to apply.

  • Merck Patient Assistance Program: Merck’s program can help you get free or low cost Merck medications.
  • Lilly Cares Foundation Patient Assistance Program: You can get free Eli Lilly insulin through this program.
  • Novo Nordisk Diabetes Patient Assistance Program: You can get free or discounted Novo Nordisk insulin through this program.
  • Sanofi Patient Assistance Program: If you take Sanofi insulin, this program can help you get it for free.
  • AstraZeneca Patient Assistance Program: This program provides medications at no cost.
  • Boehringer Cares Patient Assistance Program: This program provides Boehringer Ingelheim medications for free.

Device assistance programs

  • Free Abbott glucose monitors: Abbott manufactures the FreeStyle line of glucose monitors. You can use its program to get a free monitor and discounts on test strips.
  • Medtronic Patient Assistance: If you use an insulin pump from Medtronic, you might be able to get it at a lower cost through this program.
  • Benefits Checkup: This service from the National Council on Aging helps older adults get matched with every program and money-saving benefit they qualify for, including programs that offer free or low cost supplies.

Mail-order pharmacies

You might be able to save money by filling your prescriptions through a mail-order pharmacy, especially if you order more than a 1-month supply at a time.

If you use insurance, your copays might be lower. Plus, you’ll get the convenience of having your prescriptions delivered.

Pharmacy loyalty programs

Many pharmacies have loyalty programs, which are generally free to join. You can use these programs to save money, get coupons only offered to loyalty program members, or earn discounts with frequent purchases.

Coupon programs

Coupon websites may be free to join. They show you the lowest available prescription price and give you a coupon to bring to the pharmacy to get the deal.

You can also sign up for free discount cards, like from Optum Perks, that you can bring to the pharmacy.

Your doctor and other members of your healthcare team can offer specific help if you find managing your diabetes cost-prohibitive.

Talk with a diabetes care and education specialist

A diabetes care and education specialist is a professional who can help you manage your diabetes care. They can help you find low cost care and prescription assistance in your area.

They can also help you better manage your diabetes. These healthcare professionals teach lifestyle changes that could reduce the number of medications you need, in turn decreasing the amount of money you need to spend on medication.

You can find an educator in your area using this interactive map.

Consider a generic drug

Your doctor may prescribe a particular medication that’s more expensive or that your insurance doesn’t cover. If that happens, you may consider a generic medication as an alternative.

The cash price for generics can be hundreds of dollars less than the name brand. If you use insurance, a generic drug’s copay might be much lower. Your insurance formulary, or the official list of medications that your insurance covers, can help you determine how generics compare in cost to brand-name medications.

You can work with your doctor to switch to generic medications if you’re currently taking a brand-name prescription.

Get a 90-day supply

Ninety-day supplies are often cheaper than the standard 30-day supplies.

Not all prescriptions are available in 90-day supplies, but many are. You can ask a healthcare professional to write your prescriptions for 90 days instead of 30 days.

Samples from your doctor

Doctors sometimes have samples of prescriptions.

This won’t cover you in the long term, but samples can be a good way to quickly get what you need while waiting for approval from other programs or discount resources.

Community health centers can help you get affordable care with sliding-scale payment options.

Many community health centers have pharmacies or medications on hand to help you get low cost or free prescriptions. They might also be able to connect you with other community and local resources to help you afford to manage your diabetes.

This interactive map can help you find a local health center.

State Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs are state programs that help people with limited incomes afford their prescriptions.

You can use the Medicare website to check for a program in your state.

Remember that not all states offer Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs, and each state’s eligibility requirements differ.

Extra Help

If you have Medicare and are enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan for drug coverage, you might be eligible for Extra Help. This program reduces costs for Medicare enrollees with low incomes.

You can apply for the program through the Social Security Administration website.

There are multiple nonprofit programs you can use to find low cost diabetes medications and supplies:

  • Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT): MAT can match you with programs to help you afford prescriptions. Enter information about your prescription, income, and insurance to get matched.
  • NeedyMeds: NeedyMeds maintains a large database of information and helpful resources for people with diabetes and other conditions. The site can help you find supplies, prescriptions, and care.
  • RxAssist: You can use RxAssist to search for prescriptions and get matched with ways to receive them for free or at a low cost.
  • RxHope: You can apply for programs directly from the RxHope website. Search for your prescription and see programs to get it for free or at a low cost.
  • GetInsulin.org: This program is specifically for finding low cost insulin. It can match you with resources to help you pay for it and can help you get emergency insulin.
  • American Diabetes Association (ADA): This organization creates the diabetes guidelines each year that doctors and healthcare professionals use to advise and help people with diabetes. It offers many resources at its various chapters throughout the country and through the national organization. The ADA also advocates on medication and insulin affordability for people with diabetes, meaning it can direct people to options that may help with insulin costs.
  • American Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES): The ADCES is the leading organization of diabetes educators and care specialists in the United States. It offers many resources for finding help in affording diabetes medications, insulin, and supplies.

Online health groups and communities can also be a place to turn for some people with diabetes when it comes to affording supplies and medications. Research shows these may be beneficial.

However, make sure to consult your healthcare team to help determine what is credible online information to use in your life with diabetes.

Finding help

It’s important to reach out for help when you need it. Here are some instances where you might want to consider asking for help when it comes to managing your diabetes and having the supplies and medications you need:

  • when you can’t afford your medications
  • when you’ve been rationing your medication or skipping doses
  • when you’ve been having very high blood glucose readings
  • when you’re having symptoms of diabetes

The cost of managing diabetes can add up. Many of those costs are related to medications, devices, and supplies. Many programs are available to help people afford the things they need.

If you’ve been struggling to cover the cost of your diabetes care, you have options. You can apply for programs to reduce your costs or talk with a medical professional about lower cost medication options.