Diabetics May Be Scrambling After Insulin Pump Maker Calls It Quits

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A local company that makes and sells insulin pumps has decided to discontinue the product. So what does that mean for patients with diabetes?

West Chester based Animas Corporation has decided to exit the insulin pump business, leaving thousands scrambling for a different product. Dr. Daniel Rubin, Associate Professor of Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine, says patients should be able to quickly find a replacement.

In general, the pumps have similar technologies. There are very comparable pumps on the market to the Animas pumps," Rubin said. "Certainly there's some familiarity and comfort that patients develop with one pump, so they would need to be trained on a new pump system, but I don't think that's a significant barrier."

He says your first call should be to your insurance company to find out which brands of insulin pumps your plan will cover.

"Certain insurers have certain preferences for what they will pay for," Rubin explained, "and a lot it is dictated by insurance and that will certain determine price."

In:
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• Diabetes
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• Delaware County