The Cost of Diabetes Management: Beyond the Price of Medication

Diabetes management is not limited to providing medication; the costs of monitoring equipment, injection tools, and medical services can also account for a significant share of patients' expenses.

According to Mehr reporter, where does the cost of diabetes management start? From the price of medicine, test strip and monitoring equipment, periodical tests or doctor's visit? The answer is not the same for everyone, as each person's care needs and treatment plan are different. One person may need medication or insulin and injection tools, another person may need oral medications and periodic tests, and yet another person may need different equipment and care services.

For this reason, the cost of diabetes management cannot be measured only by the price of a drug. Some of these expenses are repeated regularly and others are created at specific time intervals or based on individual needs. Putting these costs together forms the "diabetes management cost basket"; A basket whose composition is different for each person.

What are the components of the diabetes management budget?

The cost basket of diabetes management can be considered as a collection of drug costs, injection and monitoring equipment, periodical tests, doctor's visits and other services needed to follow up the disease. Some of these expenses are repeated frequently and some others must be repeated at specific time intervals.

For example, a person who needs regular blood sugar monitoring may need blood glucose test strips, lancets, and measuring devices in addition to prescribed medication. In addition to these items, a doctor's visit and tests such as HbA1c can also be added to this basket at certain intervals.

So, even if one item is a small part of the total cost, repeating it over the course of a month or year can add up to a significant amount. The composition of these costs is also not the same for different people, and a fixed figure cannot be considered as the cost of diabetes management for everyone.

When expenses are collected in a basket

The cost of diabetes management does not consist of a fixed payment; It includes everything from doctor's visits to periodic tests and in some cases, the provision or replacement of his foot equipment.

For example, in Shahrivar 1405, the price of a pack of 50 blood sugar test strips in a medical equipment store was recorded as 325 thousand tomans. If a person needs two packages of the same product during the month, the cost of buying the tapes will reach about 650 thousand Tomans; Of course, this is just an example to show how costs are formed and the amount of consumption is not the same for different people.

In this section, the issue of insurance coverage is also raised. According to the information published by health insurance, 100 blood sugar test strips per month are covered up to 140 thousand tomans. Therefore, the cost that a person pays in practice is not only dependent on the price of the product, and the amount of insurance coverage and the conditions of its use should also be considered.

As a result, when we talk about the cost of diabetes management, we cannot only measure the price of a drug or a device. What forms the actual cost of care is the total number of items needed, the frequency of each expense, and the amount of insurance coverage. This combination also changes depending on the type of diabetes, the treatment method and the level of need for medical monitoring and follow-up.

This data shows the change in the price of a required item of equipment; But it alone is not enough to measure the change in the total cost of diabetes management. The cost of this care consists of a set of consumable items and periodic services, and its composition is also different according to the type of treatment and the needs of each person.

As a result, to examine the cost of diabetes management, one must look at the entire cost portfolio; A basket that can include medicine, monitoring and injection equipment, periodical tests, doctor's visits and other necessary services. The number of times each of these items is used also plays a role in the final cost.

Part of the costs of this basket may be covered by insurance, but the amount of coverage is not the same for all items and depends on the type of insurance, the type of service or product, and the limit of the insurance obligation. Even in cases where an item is covered by insurance, its price in the market may be higher than the limit of the insurance obligation, and a part of the cost remains on the person.

Cost, one dimension of access to care

When we look at diabetes management costs as a basket, it's not just the price of a drug or a device. Frequency of use, frequency of purchase, cost of medical services and amount of insurance coverage together determine how much of the cost of care remains with the individual.

This issue has been noticed at the international level. In its 2025 report on the technologies needed to manage diabetes, in addition to medicine, the World Health Organization has addressed equipment such as blood sugar measuring devices, test strips, lancets, syringes, and HbA1c measuring equipment, and emphasized the importance of accessibility and affordability of these equipment.

A study published by Ewen et al in 2025 in BMJ Public Health also examined the availability and affordability of blood glucose monitoring equipment in 6 low- and middle-income countries, including Fiji, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Peru, and Vietnam.

The results showed that access to this equipment is not the same in all countries. For example, in government centers, the inventory of blood sugar measuring devices at the time of the study was between zero and 57%, and the inventory of test strips was between zero and 53%. These differences show that even when a person needs monitoring equipment, access to it can depend on the location and sector of supply.

On the other hand, the price of this equipment in some of the surveyed countries was significant for people with low income. For continuous blood glucose monitoring equipment, one month's cost of sensors in some countries was equivalent to 15 to 65 days' wages. The research also showed that in all investigated cases, test strips contributed the most to the monthly cost of blood sugar self-monitoring.

One of the significant findings of this study was the comparison of the cost of self-monitoring with the cost of insulin. Based on the average prices and the assumption of five times of monitoring per day, the cost of self-monitoring of blood sugar in the surveyed countries was higher than the cost of treatment with vials of human insulin and syringes; However, this pattern was not the same for pen analog insulins.

Of course, these findings are related to the same 6 countries under study and they cannot be directly generalized to the conditions of Iran. The takeaway from this evidence is the importance of considering the cost of monitoring equipment alongside the cost of medication and other services needed to manage diabetes.

Different costs, one common problem

The cost of diabetes management does not end with the price of medicine. Medicines, injection and monitoring tools, tests, visits and required services can be repeated in different periods and together form each person's budget. The amount of insurance coverage and the share of out-of-pocket payments also affect the final cost. When the total of these payments adds up, it may become more difficult for some individuals and families to keep up with the regular care plan.