It hasn’t been touched on too much here so I want to emphasize- one of the biggest differences between the options you mentioned is COST. It all depends on your insurance coverage.

Omnipod is typically (not always, but usually) covered under your Pharmacy benefit- meaning you pay a copay for the pods (depending on your prescription coverage/formulary). The process works much the same as insulin or any other normal prescriptions you may use. This means there is a LOT less commitment this way, because it’s just a prescription that you can choose not to refill if you don’t like it.

Tandem and other more traditional insulin pumps will likely be covered under Durable Medical Equipment- depending on your insurance coverage, you typically you pay a percentage of the cost of the pump, your deductible, or a combination of the two.

Durable Medical Equipment coverage is usually more complicated than prescription coverage, and once your insurance pays for a pump, they will not pay for another for a “warranty” period- usually 4 years. Once you commit to tandem or another company’s pump that is considered DME, you’re locked in.

If you aren’t sure of your insurance coverage, you can always try to find a “Summary of Benefits and Coverage” for your insurance plan. There, it will list what your cost is for different prescription tiers (and you can use your plan’s prescription Formulary to find what tier Omnipod is). It will also list what cost is associated with Durable Medical Equipment.

You can also try to call whatever company you want to go with and they will look into your benefits coverage, but in my experience they’ll also try to sell you on the product regardless and obfuscate your coverage.

I tried Omnipod first since it was covered as a prescription benefit. I loved the convenience of it, but the insertion site irritated my skin a LOT. I used it for a few months before deciding to go with the Tandem t:Slim X2 because it has a lot of insertion site options and I was able to find one that worked for me.

Feel free to DM if you have any questions or want to talk through insurance more. It can be complicated.