The following plan is being added to our list of resources for Low Income Assistance from Drug Companies on our Guide To Free Diabetes Test Supplies and Diabetic Testing.

Novo Nordisk USA provides free insulin supplies to low-income households. 90-day supplies of their insulin drugs Levemir (FlexPen), NovoLog (FlexPen), the GlucaGen Hypokit and Prandin Repaglindide tablets are available.

Qualifications for this program are similar to that of Patient Assistance Programs offered by other drug companies. There is also a qualification for this program which states that not only can you not have health insurance to qualify, but that you must not be eligible for ANY type of insurance or public assistance. This may be a bit of a difficult burden to meet, since just about anyone can technically qualify for some type of health insurance. Unfortunately, the qualifications don’t include a clause saying that such insurance has to be reasonably affordable. To download a qualification form and read more about the program, you can access the company’s website at:

http://novonordisk-us.com

With such a high burden needing to be met on the company’s Patient Assistance Program, you will likely have better luck getting free supplies of these medications via samples available from your physician. If your Doctor or healthcare provider does not already receive free samples of these drugs, they can go online to order free supplies at Novo Nordisk’s website for physicians at https://www.novomedlink.com. Please note that this site can only be used by physicians to order free samples. It is not for diabetes patients themselves.

Novo Nordisk Inc.
100 College Road West
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 987-5800
1-800-727-6500

LifeScan’s latest line of blood glucose monitors are the smallest they have ever produced, and come in a variety of colors to match the needs of the individual diabetes patient. The company also claims that, “OneTouch Ultra Test Strips are covered by more health plans at the lowest co-pay than any other test strip, saving you an average of $250 a year.” This may or not apply to those with private health insurance, since many insurance providers charge the same amount, irregardless of brand.

Diabetes patients need only fill-out a simple form that asks a handful of questions in order to get their free blood glucose monitor by mail, such as whether or not you have diabetes, how often per day that you check your blood glucose levels and what brand of meter you are currently using. Qualified customers in the United States will receive their free meter by mail in 4-6 weeks. There are no shipping or handling charges, nothing to buy, and no strings attached. This is not an advertising campaign that only provides free blood glucose monitors to those on Medicare or other healthcare plans in order to solicit their business. The offer is available to all diabetes patients in the United States, and meters are shipped directly from the manufacturer.

Of course, use of the OneTouch UltraMini requires the proper test strips to work. The only test strips known to work with this particular meter are OneTouch Ultra Test Strips, offered separately by OneTouch. For detailed background information on how pharmaceutical companies can afford to give-away free blood glucose monitors to diabetics, see our Q&A explanation at Why is it that so many places are giving away “free meters” for Diabetes Testing these days?. For information on how and where to get free diabetes test strips, see our page at Free Diabetes Test Supplies and Diabetic Testing.

To get your free meter directly from OneTouch, see the company’s special marketing website at OneTouch SimpleStart. We aren’t sure how long this offer will last, but you would seem to have nothing to lose by participating. One side-benefit of this offer is that if you already use a OneTouch meter, your existing test strips will likely work with this meter as well, saving you from having to buy a new brand of test strips. Keep your “old” OneTouch meter and have it on hand as a spare or carry in your car for emergencies.

This is not an advertisement. We have no connection to OneTouch nor do we receive any benefit from directing diabetes patients to their website. We feel that this is truly a no-lose proposition though, as it costs you absolutely nothing and OneTouch is known as making the highest quality blood glucose monitors and diabetes test strips on the market. OneTouch hardly needs our endorsement (although we do use their meters ourselves and have always been very satisfied with their quality). This is a win-win situation for everyone, so we recommend taking advantage of their free offer while it lasts.

Also, we have upgraded the site to be compatible with most mobile phones and wireless devices. Browse us using your cellphone, and you will automatically be redirected to a mobile-optimized version of our website at FreeDiabetesTestSupplies.Com.

December 15, 2009, Washington, D.C. - A revolutionary new surgery has been performed for the first time in the United States to replace a destroyed pancreas and successfully save a patient from a life of diabetes.

A 21 year old service member that was severely injured by gunfire in Afghanistan was the first person in the world to receive the radical new transplant developed at the University of Miami.

Airman Tre F. Porfirio, 21, of St. Mary’s, Georgia suffered from numerous injures, including a pancreas that was damaged beyond repair. Without a functioning pancreas, the soldier would have faced a lifetime of diabetes treatment, due to the inability to produce insulin naturally. Surgeons at Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. worked with the University of Miami Medical School’s Diabetes Research Institute to extract healthy cells from what was left of his pancreas and transplant them directly into the liver. After three weeks, Doctors report that the Airman’s liver is successfully producing insulin on its own and that he has an excellent chance for a complete recovery.

The new procedure was originally developed in 1990 at the University of Miami by Dr. Camillo Ricordi, who developed the method for isolating cells from the pancreas as a last-resort for Type 1 diabetes patients who have no natural insulin production. This is the first time that the procedure has been used on the victim of a pancreas injury though.

“This could become an unlimited cure available for everyone,” Ricordi said.

“This could become an unlimited cure available for everyone,” Ricordi said. “The cells are lodged in his liver now, and they will develop their own new blood vessels there within weeks.” He also noted that the procedure could lead to more cases of transplanting cells from even a segment of a damaged pancreas. The procedure should allow those currently without the ability to produce insulin to live a life free of diabetes.

Dr. Ricordi performed the first clinical trials of islet-donor bone marrow cell infusions and more recently islet-donor CD34+ cell infusions with the objective to treat patients with Type 1 diabetes without the continuous requirement for anti-rejection drugs. His research objective is to develop a cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

Airman Tre F. Porfirio, first to receive surgery to cure diabetes

Dr. Camillo Ricordi of University of Miami who perfected procedure to cure diabetes

Links:

Dr. Camillo Ricordi of the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami.

A Miami Herald story titled ” Wounded soldier’s diabetes is `cured’ with cells”, detailing the successful pancreas transplant that led to cure for diabetes.

Update: The American Diabetes Association published a small article on the issue at Airman ‘Cured’ of Diabetes Following Transplant. The article does not ad any new information. It mainly seems to be a re-write of the above article in The Miami Herald titled “Wounded soldier’s diabetes is `cured’ with cells”.