News Article

New Blood Glucose Meter Provides People with Diabetes an Accurate, Affordable Solution for Glucose Testing - Without Insurance Copays
Date: Apr 15, 2015
Source: Company Data ( click here to go to the source)

Featured firm in this article: TheraSense Inc of Alameda, CA



The cost of insurance premiums and employee medical claims continues to rise in the United States, which is especially challenging for people living with chronic conditions such as diabetes. For people with diagnosed diabetes, average, direct medical expenditures can reach up to $7,900 per year1— almost as much as the annual cost of a moderate food plan at home for a family of two.2

Now a new, slim-designed Abbott blood glucose meter with high accuracy is available over-the-counter at major U.S. retailers at a lower cost than other branded meters and test strips, and without the need for insurance paperwork and copays often needed to purchase branded diabetes supplies. This new meter, the FreeStyle Precision Neo Blood Glucose Monitoring System™, received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance and is now available at a cost of between $14-$17 USD for 25 strips and a one-time fee for the meter, which ranges from $22-$28 USD.

"People with diabetes depend every single day on trusted, high-quality tools to monitor their glucose levels," said Robert Ford, senior vice president, Diabetes Care, Abbott. "This dependence makes it even more important to ensure people have affordable access to accurate, fast, and easy-to-use systems such as FreeStyle Precision Neo system. Today, more than ever, consumers have more influence on their healthcare decisions, and Abbott is focused on offering products that provide the highest standard of accuracy, and are also affordable and easily accessible over the counter."

According to the American Diabetes Association, the medical costs of people living with diabetes are about 2.3 times higher than for people without the disease.1

In addition, the process associated with healthcare insurance paperwork can be a challenge for some individuals. To help provide a solution, Abbott developed FreeStyle Precision Neo—the first system from Abbott's FreeStyle family of products that is available over the counter with preferred copay pricing, giving patients the option to pay out of pocket to obtain their monitor and test strips.

The FreeStyle Precision Neo System features include:

Monitor's memory holds up to 1,000 readings
Slim design; the device is thinner than a "AAA" battery
Large touchscreen display with simple icons; easy-to-read numbers
Fast, five-second test time
Small blood sample size
E-Ink screen, short for electrophoretic ink, which displays the appearance of a printed page

Individuals with diabetes who are interested in Abbott's FreeStyle Precision Neo System should visit https://www.myfreestyle.com/freestyle-precision-neo-blood-glucose-monitoring-devices.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare company devoted to improving life through the development of products and technologies that span the breadth of healthcare. With a portfolio of leading, science-based offerings in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic pharmaceuticals, Abbott serves people in more than 150 countries and employs approximately 73,000 people.

Visit Abbott at www.abbott.com and connect with us on Twitter at @AbbottNews.

Abbott Media:

Vicky Assardo, (510) 239-4690
Jessica Sachariason, (510) 239-2690

Abbott Financial:

Tina Ventura, (847) 935-9390
- See more at: https://www.abbottdiabetescare.com/press-room/2015/2015-a#sthash.FkdOb6Xf.dpuf