Is It Legal to Sell Diabetic Test Strips?

Yes, with one critical exception that decides everything.

The short answer

Selling your own unused, unexpired, sealed diabetic test strips is legal. The FDA's position is that reselling unexpired test strips is lawful, there is no federal license required to sell supplies you own, and Georgia does not prohibit it. There is one situation that works differently — supplies paid for by a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid — and it is worth understanding before you sell anything. If you are not sure which applies to you, call us at (470) 816-9685 and we will work it out together.

Why the funding source matters

When a government program pays for supplies, it pays on the basis that the person will use them, so those supplies sit outside the resale market. Commercial insurance is a different matter entirely — supplies dispensed under an employer or marketplace plan, or bought outright at a pharmacy, are your property, and reselling them is an ordinary private transaction. That covers the large majority of what people bring us.

Most sellers are not certain which applies to them, and that is completely normal. It is a two-minute conversation on the phone, and we would rather have it with you than have you assume the answer either way.

What about Georgia specifically?

Georgia's durable medical equipment supplier license, at O.C.G.A. § 26-4-51, applies to a person who supplies DME to a consumer and submits a claim for reimbursement by a third party. A cash buyback that never bills insurance does not trigger that requirement on its face. Separately, several Georgia counties and cities operate secondhand-dealer ordinances with registration and transaction-logging requirements, which is one reason we log every lot number we take.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you are considering operating as a buyer rather than a seller, talk to a Georgia healthcare attorney.

Is it legal to sell test strips I got with a copay?

If the copay was under a commercial plan, yes — they are yours. A copay does not by itself change who funded the supply, so it is worth a quick look at which card was on file at the pharmacy. Not sure? Call us and we will figure it out with you in a couple of minutes.

Do I need a license to sell my own supplies?

No. Selling personal property you own does not require licensing in Georgia. Licensing questions apply to buyers and to businesses that bill insurers, not to an individual clearing a cabinet.

Can I sell strips that belonged to a relative who died?

Usually yes, if you are the person handling the estate. Estate lots are one of the most common things we buy, and there are a couple of things worth establishing first — we walk through them with you on the phone, and it is quick. More on clearing a family member's supplies.

What if I am not sure where mine came from?

Then call us before you do anything else. This is the single most common question we get, and it is easy to sort out — usually by looking at what card was on file at the pharmacy, or at a statement. We will help you work it out at no cost and with no pressure, and if it turns out we cannot buy them we will point you somewhere that can take them. (470) 816-9685

Is any of this a gray market?

The secondary market in test strips is often described that way, and it is fair enough — it is legal, thinly regulated, and it has attracted operators who cut corners. The market itself exists for a straightforward reason: a box of strips that costs pennies to make sells for well over a hundred dollars at a pharmacy counter, and people without coverage cannot pay that. Your unused box reaches someone who needs it. You get paid.

What the record shows

Everything below is quoted or drawn from a primary source, linked so you can check it yourself rather than take our word for it. Full list on our sources and regulations page.

• “illegal importations, theft, or by buying the diabetic test strips from patients”

  Two defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud on 10 May 2024 after acquiring non-retail and international test strips and reselling them to pharmacies as retail stock. They altered invoices and shipping records and counterfeited National Drug Code numbers, bar codes and labeling. The scheme produced roughly $12 million in fraudulent proceeds, and each defendant faced up to ten years in prison.

  — U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations, Two additional South Florida residents plead guilty to health care fraud charges related to diabetic test strips, 2024.

• “Medicare Part B (Medical Insurance) covers some diabetic test supplies, including blood glucose (blood sugar) test strips”

  After the Part B deductible, a beneficiary pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount — which is why establishing who actually funded a given box is the first thing worth checking.

  — Medicare.gov, Blood sugar test strips coverage, current.

• “Any person who supplies durable medical equipment to a consumer and submits a claim for reimbursement by a third party”

  Georgia's durable medical equipment supplier license is triggered by supplying DME and submitting a claim for third-party reimbursement. A cash buyback that never bills an insurer does not meet that test on its face.

  — Official Code of Georgia Annotated, O.C.G.A. § 26-4-51 — Durable medical equipment supplier license, 2024 edition.

• Georgia municipalities operate secondhand-dealer ordinances that commonly require registration and per-transaction logging of purchased goods. Requirements are set locally, so they differ between counties and cities across metro Atlanta.

  — Georgia Municipal Association, Model Pawnbroker and Secondhand Dealer Ordinance, model ordinance.

• Roche and LifeScan have pursued fraud claims over wholesale test strips diverted into retail channels, a scheme they say ran through pharmacies in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Iowa and cost them millions in improperly paid rebates between 2013 and 2017.

  — Roche Diagnostics and LifeScan (reported by Bloomberg Law), Roche, LifeScan Proceed in Diabetes Test Strip Fraud Suits, ongoing litigation.