Unless you are living in an underground bunker, you know that Medtronic Diabetes announced yesterday that the MiniMed 670G hybrid closed loop system has been approved by the FDA with anticipated shipping in the spring of 2017. Here’s a link to the press release if you haven’t read it yet.

Am I excited about this? Absolutely yes!!! Will I purchase it? Absolutely not!!!

You may think that I won’t purchase this because I am currently a Dexcom and Animas user. You may think that I won’t purchase this because I’m mad about the United Healthcare/Medtronic agreement. You may think that I won’t purchase this because “The Cure” will be here in five years. No, those are not the reasons. What is preventing me from pursuing this device is my next pump and CGM is ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

Those lightening bolts are supposed to grab your attention and make you sit on the edge of your seat as I explain my predicament.

My issue is that I am going on Medicare in April 2017 after having my current pump go out of warranty in December 2016. I long ago satisfied my deductible for 2016 and if I purchase a pump before the end of the year, it will be at no cost. The individual health insurance market in Minnesota is in chaos and I plan to purchase the cheapest insurance plan possible for January through March 2017. It will be expensive despite a high deductible. No way can I purchase a new pump in that time frame.

So my choice is to purchase a pump in early December or enter 2017 with an out-of-warranty pump and wait until Medicare. A naive advisor might suggest that I buy the Medtronic 630G in December knowing that those buyers will be the first in line for the 670G pump when it is released in the spring. But guess what! Once you get on Medicare, it is against Medicare law for beneficiaries to participate in upgrade programs. So if I purchase a 630G, that will be my pump for the next 4-5 years because I will not be allowed to upgrade to the 670G.

A Medtronic representative told me on Saturday that the 630G is now being reimbursed by Medicare. The sensors are not Medicare-eligible, but at least the pump is covered. If I wait hoping to purchase a 670G after April 1, the most likely possibility is that it will not be covered by Medicare for quite a while. Hopefully I am wrong on that.

I am excited that the FDA has approved the MiniMed 670G. Medtronic is not calling it an  artificial pancreas, but it is an important step on the journey to complete insulin automation. That is good for all of us excited about the future of diabetes technology.

But for me, it is not in the game. My reimbursement scenarios just don’t fit the timing of this release. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I currently use Dexcom after several unhappy years with Medtronic SofSensors. The Guardian Sensor 3 that is part of the 670G is many generations removed from that nightmare and I would be open to trying them. But it would be too big a leap of faith to move back to Medtronic without a trial run. Maybe that will be possible in the future when hopefully, hopefully, hopefully CGM/pump systems will be reimbursable under Medicare.

Today my options are too tangled and uncertain to make the MiniMed 670G part of my plans. But I will still camp out in the grandstands with other diabetes advocates yelling “Congrats!” to Medtronic. We live in a golden age of diabetes tech. Unfortunately we also live in a stone age of diabetes reimbursement for those of us who are approaching age 65 and older.