Real Talk: How the Diabetes Meter Program Really Works
You’ve probably read “your meter is included” and thought: okay how does that actually work? Fair question. Here’s the whole thing, stated plainly.
The meter costs three steps, not dollars. Your doctor writes the prescription. You pick the meter up at their office and get trained, hands-on. You join our Living in Control class. We buy every meter we place, and we cover the delivery and the training because we’re a supplies company, and we’re betting that people who test with confidence will choose us for strips at wholesale prices for years. You never have to. The meter is yours either way.
That's the deal.
The Meter Costs Three Steps
Not paperwork for paperwork’s sake. Each step exists for one reason: so your meter gets used with confidence, not left in a drawer.
Your Doctor's Prescription
Your own primary doctor writes the prescription for a glucometer and sends it to HealthViber. No doctor? We'll help you connect with care nearby.
A medical device should arrive the way medicine does through your doctor, not a coupon code. It also means your care team knows you're testing.
Hands-on Training
We deliver the meter to your doctor's office, where it's waiting for you. The office staff show you how to test, read your numbers, and care for it in person.
Owning a meter and using one well are different things. Ten minutes with a real person is worth more than any pamphlet.
The Living in Control Class
Our warm, plain-language diabetes education program. Learn what your numbers mean and what small daily changes help and earn VibePoints toward supplies as you go.
The meter tells you the number. The class helps you know what to do with it. That's what turns a diagnosis into a routine.
Show up three times. The meter is yours. That's your whole side of it.
Who Pays For What
Real money changes hands in this program just not yours. Here’s the whole ledger, ours and yours, side by side.
Your Effort
- A visit with your own doctor for the prescriptionOr let us help you find a provider if you don't have one
- One trip to pick up your meter and learn itAt your doctor's office, with their staff
- Your seat in the Living in Control classAt your pace and it earns you VibePoints toward supplies
- Zero dollarsNot at pickup, not later, not "after a trial"
Our Money
- The glucometer itselfWe buy every meter we place. Real cost, paid by HealthViber
- Delivery to your doctor's officeSo it's waiting for you, not lost in the mail
- The Living in Control programGuided by nurses and certified diabetes educators
- Help finding care if you're uninsuredWe search our network and beyond, and we're straight about what's available
Your meter is paid for in participation, not dollars and participation is the part that actually helps you.
Why Would a Company Do This?
Because it’s a good bet and we’d rather explain the bet than dress it up.
Meters Were Never the Business
Here's the industry's open secret: the money in diabetes care has never been in meters it's in test strips, month after month, for years. Every meter company knows it. Most bury it under rebates and coupon games. We'd rather say it out loud.
So We Bet on You Instead
A person who's trained, confident, and testing regularly will need supplies for a long time. We sell those supplies at honest wholesale prices, printed right on our site. If we treat you well, we think you'll choose us. If you don't the meter is still yours, and we part as neighbors.
Where We Stand, in Plain Terms
Being clear about this keeps our help honest and keeps you safe.
We are
- A for-profit company, and we won't pretend otherwise.
- Paid one way: supplies, sold at wholesale prices you can see before you buy.
- The ones who buy every meter this program places.
- Betting that treating people well earns their business.
We never
- Require you to buy anything before, during, or after you get your meter.
- Auto-enroll you in a supply plan or a subscription.
- Sell or share your information. Ever.
- Profit on your meter, your training, or your class.
Your Questions, Answered Straight
The things people actually ask us with the answers we’d give a neighbor.
So what does the meter actually cost me?
Three steps: your doctor’s prescription, a hands-on training session at their office, and joining the Living in Control class. No dollars not at pickup, not later. We buy every meter we place; your part is showing up.
Is the meter really mine to keep?
Yes. Yours, permanently. There’s nothing to pay back, no trial period, and no purchase required to keep it. Whether you ever buy supplies from us has no effect on the meter being yours.
What does HealthViber get out of this?
A fair shot at your supply business. The money in diabetes care is in strips, not meters that’s true for every company in this industry. We’re a supplies company with wholesale prices printed on our site, and we’re betting that if we start the relationship by treating you well, you’ll choose us when you need strips. You never have to. That’s the entire business model, stated plainly.
Do I have to buy my strips from HealthViber?
No. Not now, not ever, and nobody will pressure you. We’ll tell you once what our supplies cost the prices are public on our site and then it’s entirely your call. Plenty of people take the meter, take the class, and buy strips elsewhere. The meter is still theirs. We just think our math will win you over.
Why does the meter come through my doctor instead of the mail?
Because that’s how a medical device should arrive: prescribed by your own doctor, handed to you in person, with someone showing you how to use it. It also means your care team knows you’re testing and can work your numbers into your care. A meter that shows up cold in a mailbox helps nobody.
What if I don't have a doctor or insurance?
You still have a place to start. We’ll help you find a provider nearby who serves people without insurance, and where we can, we’ll help make the connection. Our honest promise: we’ll try our best. We can’t promise a nearby option always exists some areas simply don’t have one but we’ll search our network and beyond, and be straight with you about what’s available.
What are VibePoints?
A bonus, never a barrier. As you take part in Living in Control, you earn VibePoints you can put toward supplies like test strips a way to celebrate the effort of learning. You never have to earn points before you can check your blood sugar. The meter comes regardless. Always.
Three Steps. Your Meter. Straight Answers The Whole Way.
Reach out today and we’ll walk you through every step talking to your doctor, or helping you find one. It starts with hello.
In an emergency, get help right away. Medical emergency: call 911. Mental-health crisis: call or text 988. Chicago city services: Call 311.
HealthViber Care Connect is a community resource program of HealthViber serving Chicago residents with diabetes. It is not a doctor, pharmacy, clinic, or emergency service; it does not provide treatment or medical advice. The glucometer is provided through the patient’s own physician, who prescribes it; the physician’s office provides training. Living in Control is HealthViber’s nurse/DCES-guided diabetes education program. HealthViber is not a pharmacy, insurer, or prescriber.