How Reselling Unused Test Strips For Blood Glucose Is Driving An Unusual Trade Online And On The Streets
Often the sellers of the strips are insured and paid little out of pocket for them, while the buyers may be underinsured or uninsured, and unable to pay retail prices, which can run well over $100 for a box of 100 strips. Unlike the resale of prescription drugs, which is prohibited by law, it is generally legal to resell unused test strips.
The New York Times:
The Strange Marketplace For Diabetes Test Strips
On most afternoons, people arrive from across New York City with backpacks and plastic bags filled with boxes of small plastic strips, forming a line on the sidewalk outside a Harlem storefront. Hanging from the awning, a banner reads: “Get cash with your extra diabetic test strips.” Each strip is a laminate of plastic and chemicals little bigger than a fingernail, a single-use diagnostic test for measuring blood sugar. More than 30 million Americans have Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, and most use several test strips daily to monitor their condition. (Alcorn, 1/14)
In other health industry news —
Reuters:
U.S. Healthcare Stocks Seen Maintaining Momentum After Strong 2018
One of the rare market bright spots last year, the U.S. healthcare sector remains a Wall Street darling despite a slow start to 2019. As 2019 begins, healthcare is the most favored of the 11 main S&P 500 sectors, according to a Reuters review of ratings from 13 large Wall Street research firms, which recommend how to weigh those groups in investment portfolios. (1/14)
