The Signs Have Popped Up Around York County
An unusual offer is popping up on roadside signs around York County an offer to buy diabetic test strips.
About 6 million people in the U.S. use insulin to manage their diabetes, according to Matt Petersen, a managing director at American Diabetes Association. Those people use the test strips, along with a device called a glucometer, to check their blood glucose levels.
“Test strips are absolutely necessary for anyone who uses insulin to be able to safely adjust the dose of insulin to a persons blood glucose levels,” Petersen said in an email. “They are also helpful for people with diabetes who dont use insulin to know how well theyre managing their diabetes.”
However, not all people have the right amount of test strips, Petersen said. Some have too many, and others don’t have enough, creating the unusual resale market.
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Diabetic test strips are expensive, and for some people with diabetes, insurance doesnt provide as many strips as a health care provider might recommend, said Rachel Kostelac, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Department of Human Services.
Particularly, those with Type I diabetes might need more test strips than their insurance provides, said Debra Bell, Family First Health director of clinical quality improvement. “A person has to have some way to check their blood sugar because their pancreas doesn’t create insulin.”
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Top 10 Website That Buys Unused Diabetic Test Strip
22 July 2021
Smart people believe in making smart decisions. They know how to get the most out of anything, even if it is about unused diabetic test strips. They do not throw in a trash can but prefer to sell at a good price.
A Bit About Diabetic Test Strip
It is quite important to keep a close eye on your blood sugar level if you are a diabetic person and need to manage your disease. Diabetes Test Strips are called an ideal way to get your blood sugar tested. This strip analyses your blood sugar levels. Get your blood glucose checked regularly. Test strips help you to know what activity, medication, or food is affecting your sugar level in a good or bad way.
Best 10 Websites To Sell Unused Diabetic Test Strip Easily and Safely
To sell unused test strips, it is ideal to choose the best website where you can sell your unused test strips without coming across any hassles.
#1 Sell My Strip
#2 Two Moms Buy Test Strips
#3 Strips USA
Can Expired Test Strips Give A False Reading Do They All Go Bad
The most important factor when buying test strips is having accurate results. Diathrive provides you with control solution at no cost so you can always verify the accuracy of your test strips. Learn more about test strip accuracy here.
Blood glucose test strips have an expiration date because the enzyme on the strip can be affected by heat, cold, moisture, age and other factors. Damaged or expired strips can give false readings that are very far from your true blood sugar. We always send strips that are at least a year from their expiration date. Usually, you have about 15-18 months to use your strips before they expire.
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How To Properly Perform A Blood Test
Due to the differences in design for all the blood glucose testing product brands, it is best to follow the specific instructions provided for your blood glucometer and test strips. However, for the new diabetes patients, we have provided a list of general guidelines for proper testing blood sugar procedure and practice.
What Is A Urine Glucose Test Cant I Use This Procedure Instead
For all the pain and money invested, you may wonder if there is an alternative to blood glucose test. Yes urine glucose test. A urine glucose test measures the amountof glucose and ketone in your urine. It is much less invasive than a blood glucose test, but it also tends to be less accurate. It is usually performed at a diagnostic laboratory when you go for your routine checkup where various other tests are also performed.
However, at-home urine ketone testing is most often necessary for type 1 diabetes patients who have blood glucose levels over 300 mg/dl, who are sick or have symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis. It may also be an option for you if you have difficulty obtaining a sufficient blood sample or you have some other trouble performing blood glucose monitoring. Please note that if you choose to use this method of monitoring your blood glucose level, there are several disadvantages to urine glucose test:
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Why Do People Sell Their Diabetic Test Strips
If you are reading this blog chances are youve seen an ad on Craigslist, your newsfeed on Facebook, in the classifieds, or printed on a sign on the side of the road in your neighborhood offering to pay cash for diabetic test strips. So, you are wondering why on earth would anyone want to buy anyones extra test strips, or better yet why would diabetics even sell them in the first place? They need those right? Yes, of course they need them, but they do not always need as many as they have been given. For many various reasons a lot of people end up with an excess of test strips. For example, people with type 2 diabetes, according to Matt Petersen are provided a fixed number of test strips every month whether they use them or not. Those people who do not use insulin especially will not need to test as often, so they will end up with an excess more often than not.
Other reasons people may have extra or excess diabetic test strips.
So then why do we buy the extra diabetic test strips?
So again, why do people sell their diabetic test strips?
How Does The New Test Strip Work
We understand that the glucose test strips works by using the glucose oxidase enzyme that converts glucose in your blood sample into an electrical current. But how exactly does such tiny piece of plastic achieve this reaction? In order to answer this question, we must first look at the construction of the test strips.
Even though so many different brands of blood glucose test strips and meters present on the market each has its own technology and design, they all fundamentally function the same way. As shown in the diagram, a test strip is actually composed of several layers that each serves its own function. Essentially, the top layer serves as a mini sponge to soak up your blood sample.
The middle layers serve as a filter to channel the blood sample to the reaction center. The next layer includes three basic parts: the enzyme that reacts with the blood glucose, a mediator chemical that speeds the electrons along the strips circuit so that an accurate reading can occur before the reaction dissipates, and a concoction of chemicals that stabilize and preserves the enzyme and mediator chemicals. At the bottom sits the gold and palladium coated circuit that transfer the reaction electrons to the meter for analysis.
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Why Do People Buy Or Sell Unused Diabetic Test Strips
Those who are insured might have these medical supplies covered by their insurance company, or co-pay at most. The uninsured and under-insured pay sky-high prices out of pocket for test strips, which is why its no wonder that the underground economy of buying-and-selling unused test strips thrives.
It is not illegal to buy and sell unused diabetic test strips as these strips can be bought from pharmacies and retailers. You can sell them even if you were prescribed the test strips. However, if your strips were purchased by Medicare or Medicaid, you cannot sell them as these were paid for by the federal government. You are not allowed to profit off the governments programs and services. You also cannot sell test strips that have been acquired illegally.
Selling your unused test strips can be beneficial to both you and the ones who will buy them from the middlemen. You will be able to recoup from all the costs of managing diabetes, while those who cannot afford the high prices of test strips in pharmacies can get a hold of these crucial supplies at discounted prices. Take the time to research different sites that buy and sell unused diabetic supplies and read their guidelines. Make sure they are a legitimate company that handles and stores these supplies properly and pays sellers accordingly.
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When Is It Illegal To Sell Diabetic Supplies
There are a few instances when it is illegal to sell your test strips, lancets, and CGM products.
If the products were acquired through Medicare or Medicaid, they cannot be resold. This is because it is illegal to profit off of government programs.
The test strip, lancet, and CGM boxes will typically have a red line or label on the box indicating that it was purchased through one of these programs.
Another instance where it is illegal to sell diabetic supplies is when they are not acquired legally. If they are stolen, you cannot sell legally resell them. For obvious reasons, of course.
This rule applies to anything.
Lastly, as a general rule of thumb, you cannot, and should not sell diabetic items that are opened, expired, tampered with, damaged, or otherwise are not in mint condition.
Doing so is unethical and can potentially harm others .
Also, never sell items that you need!
To sum it up your diabetic items cannot be resold if they are:
-
Purchased through Medicare or Medicaid
-
Stolen
-
Damaged, expired, or opened
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How To Dispose Of Lancets And Needles
As diabetics need to monitor their sugar levels on a regular basis, they need certain diabetes supplies to test their blood glucose. Diabetic supplies include a glucometer, test strips and lancets. While it is alright to use a glucometer many times, the same cannot be said for needles, test strips and lancets. Needles, lancets and test strips should be disposed of immediately after use in a safe and sanitary manner. Lets learn how to dispose of needles and lancets.
It is important to know not just how to use them, but also how to dispose of your diabetic supplies safely and properly.
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How To Use A Test Strip
- Put a test strip into your blood glucose meter.
- Prick your fingertip with the meterâs tiny needle .
- Squeeze out a drop of blood and touch it with the edge of the test strip.
Within seconds, the glucose meter will give you a blood sugar reading.
You can only use a test strip once. That means youâll have to take out a new one every time you check your blood sugar. Your doctor will tell you how often to check. It may be as much as 10 times a day if you have type 1 diabetes. Or it may be just twice a day if you have type 2 diabetes.
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Is Selling Test Strips Legal Or A Scam
Yes, selling diabetic test strips is legal. It is an over-the-counter medical supply and no prescription is required to buy or sell.
And yes, we understand your concern, because at this moment there is a well known company that is cheating customers.
They have relied on people mailing their items in, and have not paid them a cent for their products.
They are essentially stealing medical items to make higher profits.
The Two Moms are disgusted by how this company takes advantage of customers.
Above all, the Two Moms value honesty and integrity, and we do our best to remain fully transparent at every stage of your transaction. You can count on us to pay you when we say we will pay you and to pay you top dollar. Even if you found someone who offers more, let us know and we will price match. Every time.
A little mom advice from the Two Moms to you: if you want to know if a company has scammed people or not, google the name of the company and then type the word scam in the search bar and see what comes up about them. Do your research.
We pride ourselves on having a repeat and growing customer base with 5 star reviews. Google us. Look us up on Trust Pilot.
Why Are Diabetes Test Strips So Expensive And What’s The Price Of Generic Test Strips
Test strips are generally so expensive because the manufacturers and insurance companies in the United States want to make as much money as possible off of diabetes supplies. The cost to manufacture a vial of 50 test strips is only a few dollars. The marketing agencies, distributors, insurance companies, pharmacy benefit managers , and pharmacy all add cost layers that add up and come out of your pocket, even if you use FSA. These layers can push test strips up to $1 per test strip, or in some cases, even more. So people with diabetes have become quite used to overpaying for their supplies, not realizing they don’t actually have to use their health insurance or be limited in how many times a day they can check their blood sugar.
Regarding “generic test strips”, there really isn’t such a thing. Any glucose meter out there has test strips that are manufactured to go with it. People with diabetes can’t buy a generic test strip that will work in another meter. But, there are meters and strips that are priced as if they are generic, even though their quality and accuracy are comparable, or even exceed, big-brand products that insurance companies push.
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Can You Buy Glucose Test Strips Over The Counter
In the United States, glucose test strips are available over the counter at big box stores, independent retail pharmacies, and a lot of websites, including Amazon, eBay, discount pharmaceutical sites like GoodRx, and manufacturers online sites. You can also find them in the so-called gray market .
Why Are Diabetic Test Strips So Costly
Most Americans who suffer from diabetes check their sugar levels on a daily basis. For doing so, they require diabetes test strips that work along with their glucose meter for providing them with accurate glucose readings.
Diabetes test strips can set you back a fortune. Thats true, especially when you also include the fact that a diabetic has to utilize them on a daily basis. Some people may use them multiple times a day, which can increase their medical bills to extreme levels.
Test strips are highly crucial for diabetics. Unless you have enough insurance or healthcare, they can cost you a bombshell.
But why are test strips so costly?
While test strips differ from each other based on the meter that you utilize for monitoring your sugar levels, all strips are the same more or less.
A strip measures your blood samples glucose levels by measuring its electrical energy. Glucose is converted into an electrical current, which is then processed and displayed by the glucose meter.
Manufacturers do it by using enzymes that are capable of performing such conversions. However, they need to maintain a delicate balance. The enzyme must be kept active, but not excessively either.
Diabetic strips are capable of withstanding most weather fluctuations. Thus, they will not degrade these enzymes. Thats extremely important because were it not for this feature, users wouldnt have been capable of storing the strips in their houses because of rampant temperature fluctuations.
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When Its Illegal To Sell Test Strips
DollarsForStrips.com, a site that buys and resells unused test strips, offers this distinction: selling off-the-shelf test strips is legal, but selling strips provided through Medicare or Medicaid is not.
Thats because these strips have been paid for by the federal government, and you cannot profit off of their programs and services, the company warns.
You can identify testing supplies provided through those government programs because the boxes will have a red line on them. You are also prohibited from selling test strips that have expired, been used, or are in open boxes.
With so many players entering this fast-growing market, not every party may be on the up and up. Last year, the Chicago Better Business Bureau warned consumers about some strip-buying businesses, reporting that one had generated 246 complaints.