About a year ago, my PCP's office decided I needed to make separate appointments to have my blood work drawn, a week before my PCP appointments, extorting an extra co-pay so that my doctor and I can have some meaningful interaction (my insurance requires the lab work to be sent out, with about a five- to seven-day turnaround). There's nothing unusual about the blood work -- just the standard glucose panel (with HbA1c), metabolic (liver function) panel, lipid panel (cholesterol), blood count, and urinalysis.

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I refilled two prescriptions this evening. My insurance works best through mail-order prescriptions. It allows me to order 3 months of supplies for a discounted co-pay. It also adds some convenience to this disease since it delivers to my door instead of forcing me to go to the pharmacy and stand in line. I definitely enjoy using a mail-order pharmacy.

As I was refilling the prescriptions, the online mail-order system calculated my costs. It totaled my co-pays ($60 for Humalog and $90 for strips). On top of that, it showed me the total costs for both the insulin and the strips. And I have to say that I was amazed. I know that all this is expensive, but it's been awhile since I've considered what my prescriptions actually cost (not my co-pay cost).

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