The nation’s 25 largest private healthcare insurers cover artificial pancreas (AP) systems, the newest wave of diabetes management technologies that combine a continuous glucose monitor, an insulin pump and a smart algorithm to automatically dose and deliver insulin to the millions of Americans suffering with diabetes – but Medicare doesn’t cover such systems, said U.S. Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY).
“We care about ensuring people with diabetes have access to the technology which works best for them to help manage their complex disease,” Rep. Reed said. “We feel there is no fair reason for government bureaucrats to delay coverage for diabetics when many private insurers already cover artificial pancreas systems for diabetics.”
Rep. Reed, as co-chair of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus with U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), joined together to advocate for AP systems coverage in a Sept. 20 letter sent to Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The caucus-led letter included the signatures of 214 members of Congress.
“Research shows that these types of systems, which provide real-time feedback on glucose levels and adjust insulin dosing appropriately, do a much better job of managing diabetes than traditional methods,” the lawmakers wrote, noting that Congress has worked to ensure AP systems are being advanced by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
“With your leadership focused on modernizing Medicare coverage policies and with multiple new technologies on the horizon, we firmly believe this area is ripe for greater attention from CMS,” according to their letter.
The lawmakers requested that CMS work with stakeholders on improving patients’ access to such advanced private-sector technologies.
“We ask that you inform us of the agency’s progress within the next three months,” they wrote Verma.
“When the Food and Drug Administration approved the first-ever commercial version of an artificial pancreas system two years ago, it was a transformative moment for people with type 1 diabetes and a huge step forward for medicine,” Rep. DeGette said. “Medicare beneficiaries should have the same coverage for this breakthrough technology that they might have with private insurance.”