High price tags on diabetes test strips drive ‘gray market’ in US

High retail prices for diabetes test strips are driving a “gray market” in the U.S. as an increasing number of uninsured diabetics struggle to afford something they need as often as 10 times a day, the New York Times reports.

While some patients are able to manage their type 1 or type 2 diabetes using non-insulin medications or don’t need to test their blood sugar daily, the Times reported nearly one in seven diabetics still use test strips as a regular part of their routine. And for those who are uninsured or underinsured and are forced to pay out-of-pocket, the $164 price tag on a 100-count box of Freestyle Lite strips can be daunting.

That’s where the gray market emerged, targeting diabetics whose high deductibles or lack of insurance leaves them with few choices for monitoring their blood sugar. A pair of twins in Reading, Massachusetts, are among those who started soliciting and buying unused test strips from thousands of patients who’d bought them at a reduced price with insurance—a legal loophole—and reselling them at a price uninsured patients could afford.