PHARMAC has heard there may be some confusion about the warranty periods for the Tandem t:slim X2 (Tandem) insulin pumps provided as a replacement to people with an Animas Vibe insulin pump during 2019.

Warranty periods on the publicly funded insulin pumps last four-years. While the Tandem pumps provided free of charge to people as a replacement were brand new, each pump took over the warranty period that was left on the Animas Vibe pump they replaced. This means, for example, if someone’s four-year warranty on their Animas Vibe pump ended on 30 September 2020, the warranty on the replacement Tandem pump will end on 30 September 2020. This occurs regardless of when people received their Tandem replacement pump.

These replacement pumps did not cost the health sector any extra money – as part of the terms of the agreements with insulin pump suppliers they are required to replace pumps ‘free of charge’ should there be issues with their supplied pumps.

When the warranty period ends on people’s insulin pump, people are entitled to receive another funded insulin pump so long as they continue to meet the Special Authority criteria. This means people will need to receive another prescription for their insulin pump from their diabetes clinic to get a new insulin pump dispensed.

At the end of the pump warranty (and Special Authority approval period), people will have the choice of insulin pump they want from the currently funded pumps as is usually the case – currently this is either the Tandem t:slim X2 or the MiniMed 640G.

If people continue to use the replacement Tandem pump for longer than the original
Animas warranty period, they need to be made aware that it is outside of warranty and will not be eligible for support services from the insulin pump supplier.

Who to contact if you have further questions

If people are unclear about the length of the warranty of their insulin pump and you do not have that information on hand as part of your clinic records, the supplier of their insulin pump should be able to help (NZMS, the supplier of the Animas Vibe and now the Tandem pump, can be contacted on nzms@nzms.co.nz).

If you have any questions about this, please contact PHARMAC on enquiry@pharmac.govt.nz or phone 0800 66 00 50.

PHARMAC will not be able to answer any specific questions about when the warranty of people’s current insulin pump may expire.

If you have any questions about when the Special Authority expires for any of your
patients, you can contact the Ministry of Health on 0800 243 666, option 1.