Walgreens Medicare Part B Center: Billing the Govt for things customers don't need

With the Walgreens mail order program for diabetic supplies, their main source of revenue is the federal government through Medicare. And for many of the customers, they're paying nothing out of pocket because they have both Medicare and a supplemental insurance. This creates an interesting dynamic where customers don't really complain if they're getting supplies they don't need because they're not personally having to pay for it either way. If you were sent a bunch of stuff in the mail for free, you probably wouldn't go out of your way to dispute it or send it back.

A little background: Medicare will pay for a new glucose meter every 5 years, new test strips, lancets, and control solution every 90 days, a new battery every year, and a new lancing device (the thing that pricks your finger) every 6 months.

Walgreens has all of its reps pushing their Walgreens TRUE Result meter, a private label meter manufactured by Nipro Medical (who also makes Liberty's meter, which in fact is the same exact meter) which they offer complimentary at no cost to medicare or the customer. Offering free meters has become somewhat of an industry standard these days; it makes it much easier to entice customers to switch over and they make a big chunk of change back on the test strips, which must be compatible to the meter. It's very similar to Hewlett-Packard selling printers at a loss but then recouping big margins through ink cartridge sales.

Most customers who sign up with the Walgreens home delivery service do switch over to the TRUE Result meter since it's pushed and offered for free. It's a kit that includes a carrying case, control solution, 10 test strips, lancets, and a lancing device. Most kits by other manufacturers come with these same items as well, whether it's the One Touch Ultra, Ascensia Breeze, or Accu-chek Compact Plus. The problem is, Walgreens has its reps adding lancing devices on orders even though they're already included in the kit they're receiving, whether it's the TRUE Result kit or any other kit. So let's say a customer gets a TRUE Result meter. They'll end up with two lancing devices: the one included in the kit, and the added-on Reliamed lancing device that the government was charged for. Does anyone need to be sent two lancing devices? Of course not. Is the Reliamed lancing device better than the one included in the kit? No, in fact we've tried them both and prefer the one included in the kit. Also, the Reliamed lancets which Walgreens is pushing are compatible with the device within the kit. There's absolutely no reason to add another lancing device on the order, other than to bill the federal government for more items.

This isn't just a problem with Walgreens either. I've heard from many customers of Liberty who say that they are sent a lot more supplies than they need, and there are some other companies out there sending meters and supplies without the patient's consent. People rarely complain about receiving free stuff, so the public is rarely alerted to the fact of this going on. The problem is, it's not actually free - the American people are all footing the bill.