WINNIPEG -- An advocacy group for diabetes in Manitoba is calling on the provincial government to provide cost coverage for an item they say can improve the quality of life for a diabetic.
Emergency Diabetes Support for Manitobans wants coverage for the costs associated with continuous glucose monitoring devices, saying they lead to improved health outcomes and fewer hospitalizations.
The devices are used as a substitute for finger pricking to monitor blood sugar levels in a user’s body. Results are instant, they provide detailed information, and warn users of changes to blood sugars. They also offer third-party monitoring, which they said is helpful to people who live on their own and to parents of children with diabetes.
“I don’t have to get up in the middle of the night and prick my son’s finger a couple of times to make sure I know where his blood sugars are,” said Ken MacDonald, who uses one of the CGMs on his son. “That can really prevent a short-term emergency that can be very unpredictable.”
Colin Mehmel has paid for one of the devices for himself out of pocket for the last year and a half. He said it’s painless and the continuous data gathered by the monitor is much better than the snapshots given by finger pricks.
“You’re able to make way better decisions all the time based on the information you get from one of these, versus the sort of scatter-plot graph you can assemble in your brain by using test strips,” said Mehmel.
The group is concerned requests for coverage by Manitoba Health for devices are being ignored.
The group argues the technology is not new, having been around for about 15 years. Other jurisdictions have included the devices in their health-care plans, with the Saskatchewan Party in October of last year announcing its intentions of providing them to children and youth.
The devices are not cheap, costing thousands of dollars a year per person. The group says those costs are similar to what the province is currently paying for current blood sugar testing. They said if you take into account a potential reduction in emergency room visits, the cost savings could be higher.
“I’m actually spending less now than what the province was spending on me before,” said Mehmel. “And I’m getting much better care off of this device now than I was using when I was using finger pricks.”
The group hopes to have these CGMs fully covered by the province.
On Tuesday, a Manitoba Health spokesperson told CTV News that it recognizes the challenges diabetics are facing and “the importance of access to innovative therapies.”
“We continually monitor the incremental clinical value of any new drug or medical device, and balance it with the cost impact it may add to the system in order to ensure the sustainability of the public drug plan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
Current, coverage for insulin pumps for children and adolescents is provided through the Manitoba Pediatric Insulin Pump program. Also, insulin, syringes, test strips, and insulin pump supplies are currently covered under the income-based Pharamcare program in Manitoba.
