The bill that would require Medicare to cover CGMs for senior citizens needs more support. There are presently 37 senate and 185 House of Representatives cosponsors.We need more cosponsors! You and your friends can use the site below to contact legislators and make Medicare coverage of the CGM a reality. Thanks to each of you.
https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=412
Have already contacted my representatives. You are right, we need more support. My health insurance took my Dexcom away from me and I am in the appeal process to try to get coverage again.
Hi Dave, I hope the appeal is successful!
Sending this to both my senators:
I am writing specifically to ask that you sign on to co-sponsor S. 804, a bill that would
help Medicare-eligible Americans gain coverage for continuous glucose monitors
(CGMs). Medicare does not presently cover these devices, though nearly all
private insurance plans do.
CGM technology is a major game-changer for anyone who must control their blood
sugar, and especially for anyone who uses insulin, as millions of American
diabetics (both Type 1 and Type 2) do.
CGMs are proven to reduce the instance of life-threatening hypoglycemic episodes (low
blood sugar) and the resulting ER visits in populations that use them. They have also been demonstrated to dramatically improve blood sugar control across the board, reducing the likelihood of diabetic complications and their enormous attendant social costs.
The use of CGMs is recommended by national diabetes clinical guidelines, including—among many others—those of the Mayo Clinic, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the American Diabetes Association.
Please support this bill that would benefit millions of patients and significantly
reduce the personal and collective costs of managing this epidemic.
A good resource if you want to advocate is the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition (DPAC). There you can find more information on this issue, as well as finding out who your representatives are their position on various diabetes related issues. There is even a convenient way to click and send a tweet your advocacy message.
Just received the following from one of my senators:
Thank you for contacting me to share your views about Medicare CGM Access Act of 2015 (S.804). I appreciate knowing your views on this matter.
You will be happy to know that I am a cosponsor of this important legislation, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Finance. I want to assure you that I will be following the progress of this bill, and I will keep your views in mind if the Committee or the full Senate takes up this or related legislation.
I received a similar letter from one of my Senators.