On the recordMarch 19, 2015
as the founder and the cochair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, I have learned much about this devastating disease affecting nearly 29 million Americans. Fortunately, due to the Special Diabetes Program and to increased investments in diabetes research, we have seen some exciting breakthroughs and we are on the threshold of a number of important new discoveries. This is particularly true for the estimated 1.2 million Americans living with type 1 diabetes. Advances in technology such as continuous glucose monitors are helping patients control their blood glucose levels, which is key to preventing costly and sometimes deadly diabetes complications. We are moving closer and closer to our goal of an artificial pancreas. The National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration have been extremely supportive of these innovations in diabetes care. I was, therefore, shocked and troubled to learn that insulin-dependent Medicare beneficiaries are being denied coverage for continuous glucose monitors because the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has determined that they do not meet the definition for durable medical equipment and do not fall under any other Medicare category.…
