Glucose control for type 1 – Future says that only the wealthy will have excellent control?

I’ve been reviewing various types of insulin pumps for my 16 year old son who was recently diagnosed with type 1. It seems that the newer ones are built to require consumable parts that run upwards of $400. / month. Example – Medronincs with continuous blood gloucose monitoring. Are these consumables really a technical necessity or are these products being spun just to maximize profits?

These consumables consist of real necessities but include insulins and replace needles or pens so some of these costs will be replacing some existing costs. I have investigated the costs for my 16yr old son and these are about what I was told by my pharmacists. In Ontario, Canada, the govt has just announced that it will pay for the costs of the pump to age 18 but will only pay $2400 per year for the consumables which is only about half the cost. As far as good control if one were to use one of the newer insulins – long-acting with little or no peak action then one can obtain quite good control, much better than using the old long-acting insulins.

Review of Dexcom Seven Plus CGM