Jumping into the world of pumping is no simple task. And I don’t mean that it is hard to get an insulin pump. The hard part is picking through the available pump companies, deciding which one suits your lifestyle, and finding a way to pay for it. If you live in Duckburg and own a bank vault full of coins, you can pay the thousands of dollars for up-front costs and hundreds monthly for a pump. But for the rest of us, health insurance is the only avenue to an insulin pump.

Insulet Corporation, maker of the OmniPod, sites $800 for the PDM that controls the pump, and $350 for a box of 10 insulin pods. This may appeal to insurance providers because the front end costs are low compared to other pumps. $800 for the OmniPod PDM is much less than the $5,000 needed for other pumps. The bullet bites back though, after months of replacement pod purchases that add up rapidly. After negotiations between Insulet and your insurance provider, and evaluation of your coverage, your out-of-pocket costs could be anywhere from completely free to completely unrealistic.

The cost of my PDM was eighty percent covered by insurance and now I get billed every three months for replacement pods. So my pumping cost works out to about $50 a month for new pods. Insulet automatically ships out thirty pods at a time, a three month supply, and sends a bill some time after. Pumping is not cheaper than multiple daily injections, but I am sure that I have gained more freedom of lifestyle due to the switch over.

To get your own costs spelled out for you, send your pump company of choice the application paperwork with all your insurance info filled in. They will communicate with your insurance company and be able to relay your future costs to you. At this point, you can decide if the cost is affordable or if you want to petition another pump company. The decision is in your hands, as the consumer. Making a smart decision up front will save some of the financial headaches in the future.