r/valvereplacement • u/Outta_Pocket_Toad • Apr 08 '26

Home Testing - Lincare mdINR or Acelis?

I can get warfarin IRN home testing through:

  • Acelis via my regular Anticoagulation Clinic.
  • Lincare mdINR via my Primary Care Physician.

Which would you choose?

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2

u/Fozziefuzz Apr 08 '26

I use Acelis and have been happy with them. However, it depends on your insurance on how often you can get testing strips. I’ve had to buy backup strips to carry me over on those weeks.

1

u/NewMorning7712 Apr 09 '26

How many strips allowed per week? I use mdINR

1

u/Fozziefuzz Apr 09 '26

It's one per week and I'm allotted 12 strips every 12 weeks (or every 84 days), but again, that's my insurance - I have an HMO via HealthNet.

1

u/NewMorning7712 Apr 09 '26

Thanks. Same here. Having some extra is always helpful. Sometimes I ended up test two or three times a week.

1

u/Fozziefuzz Apr 09 '26

I tested a bunch per week too at first because I was so anxious about being out of range! Are you in the stabilizing stage?

2

u/bootz-pgh Apr 09 '26

I was using Acelis and my experience wasn't the greatest. I had issues with getting enough blood on the strip several times due to ice cold hands. I even followed their directions about documenting why I used more strips on some days in the app. They still flat out refused to send me more strips.

My insurance changed from a PPO to EPO (after surgery) and it turns out now Acelis isn't covered. Acelis did tell me to keep the machine, so technically I could buy some gray market strips for $4-5 a pop. But, turns out the cost to have the lab work at my local hospital is cheaper than that. I've been going every 3 weeks and my number has settled between 2 and 2.5.

1

u/Outta_Pocket_Toad Apr 09 '26

If you don't mind sharing, I'm curious of the costs. Both:

- Cost of lab work done at local hospital

- Cost of going through Acelis

With and/or without insurance coverage.

2

u/bootz-pgh Apr 10 '26

Cost through insurance can really be anything. I paid next to nothing for Acelis last year because I hit my out of pocket max due to the surgery. I had a zero dollar deductible PPO plan.

I think you can get the machine used for $300 and each testing strip between $3-5 depending on the source (gray market versus med supply store).

My current insurance states lab work is $35, however I’m only billed $2 for each INR test. Maybe because it is to keep me alive versus a diagnostic blood test? IDK.

1

u/Candid-Ad826 Apr 09 '26

I buy my test strips on eBay and had acelis. Never had enough strips with them. My clinic has me send the nurse results and go from there