The folks at Diabetes Research and Wellness Foundation sent me this to inform everyone about:
I am trying to get the word out about our e-petition that is asking for support our legislation that would support access to DSMT. We are planning a day on Capitol Hill in mid-June and would like to have 10,000 signatures on the petition by then. I hope we can count on your support.
This petition asks for individuals and institutions to support the American Association of Diabetes Educators House Bill 2425 to grant Medicare provider status to CDEs just introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives the bill by signing our petition at:
http://www.diabeteseducator.org/supportCDElegislation
hey manny i’m very interested in signing this petition. the thing that caught my eye was the “self management part”. i clicked on the link but it didnt really explain much.
I’m very unfamiliar with DSMT and CDE’s???
in a nutshell what would this petition mean for us diabetics/ how would this affect us?
I signed! I really believe in this! My insurance pays nothing towards diabetes education. I end up paying my insurance’s “resonable rate” and insurance pays nothing. But the CDE visits with nurses or dietitians are the most valuable visits I ever have!
Heather, I think you have to scroll down in the middle of the page, there is a panel in the center with more explanation.
Here it is:
Support Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training and Education (DSMT). Tell Congress to pass the Medicare DSMT Act as part of national health reform.
Diabetes is among the top public health threats today. Uncontrolled diabetes is:
-The leading cause of blindness in adults
-The leading cause of kidney failure
-The cause of 60% of non-traumatic lower limb amputations
-The cause of 5-10% of birth defects and 15-20% of spontaneous abortions in pregnant women
-The cause of the majority of deaths due to heart failure and stroke
-A leading cause of nerve damage
Patient adherence to the self-management tools taught by diabetes educators significantly reduces overall health costs and improves health outcomes for patients with diabetes.
By signing this petition you are helping to promote Medicare access to quality diabetes education and training by Certified Diabetes Educators. Help the almost 24 million Americans who have diabetes, and the 54 million Americans who are at serious risk of diabetes gain access to the valuable education and self management tools they need to manage their disease and its complications.
Hi Heather,
Jessica addressed the meaning of DSMT below (Diabetes Self-Management Training and Education).
CDE stands for Certified Diabetes Educator.
Done did it! Now im sure we are on the federal watch list lol
If the AADE wants to make diabetes education more accessible, they should start from within and start reforming their certification process, making it less impossible for otherwise qualified professionals to become CDEs and expanding the ridiculously short list of advanced degrees they require to receive certification. Lots of people out there who’d love to be part of the solution, but the AADE shuts them out.
Thanks for the link to this petition. I signed it and shared it, along with a few others I saw in there 
