I will turn 65 in May, which means I will be Medicare eligible. I have several friends and family members who thought going on Medicare was a wonderful blessing, because they now had affordable health insurance that also covered extras like well exams and gym memberships. Of course I think that Medicare is a blessing for seniors. However, for Type 1 diabetics who have had use of a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) to give them a continuous readout of their blood sugars, thus minimizing hypo and hyperglycemic episodes, this often meant that they lost whatever health insurance plan they were on, and were forced to go on Medicare. Unfortunately, Medicare presently does not cover CGM’s because they consider it “precautionary equipment”.

Anyone who regularly reads Test Guess and Go and has read Sue from Pennsylvania’s blogs about her husband losing his CGM coverage and his numerous appeals to get it reinstated already knows what a futile effort that is. Thankfully, Sue’s husband was able to get CGM coverage through the Veterans Administration. There is presently a House bill (H.R. 5644: Medicare CGM Access Act of 2014) and a companion Senate bill (S. 2689) that would facilitate Medicare coverage of CGM’s. If you haven’t already done so, please ask your representative and senator to co-sponsor these important bills.

I am somewhat apprehensive as I approach Medicare. I say somewhat, because I am lucky to have retiree health insurance through the school district I worked for, and will be able to continue with this insurance after I go on Medicare. I presently have excellent coverage of my CGM, but at one time I received a denial of coverage, appealed the decision and won my appeal. I am concerned that my insurance plan will follow Medicare guidelines and deny coverage. I will not know until I go on Medicare, so I will have to wait and see what happens, but I am hoping that they will continue to cover my Dexcom CGM. I am continually thankful that I have it, and am amazed at how much my quality of life has improved despite sometimes annoying beeps that warn me of impending high and low blood sugars.

I have been using the Omnipod pump since 2007, my one and only pump. I know that Medicare does not cover this pump, so if my retiree insurance won’t continue to cover this pump I will be forced to use a tubed pump. This is not such a big deal to me as continuing to use the Dexcom.

If I am unlucky and my insurance plan won’t continue to cover my Dexcom, I will join the hundreds of other senior Type 1’s who can’t benefit from CGM coverage, putting their lives  in danger every day. I pray that we can get more momentum for these bills and get them both signed into law.

If you have not previously contacted your Senators and U.S.
Representative to support CGM Coverage by Medicare, please
click here to go to the JDRF page that contains links and
easy-to-follow instructions to have your voice heard.