Diabetics welcome support for ‘lifesaver’ technology

Diabetics in Saskatchewan are applauding the provincial government’s recent announcement to expand support for those living with diabetes.

Premier Scott Moe detailed in the throne speech on Monday the importance of covering the cost of insulin pumps for all diabetics in the province. Prior to the announcement, the cost was only covered for people with Type 1 diabetes who were 25 or younger.

Warman resident Sara Davies was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at the age of nine.

“I had been really sick a couple of years prior to this diagnosis, before doctors confirmed that this was an autoimmune response where my body was just fighting and attacking the endocrine function of my pancreas,” she said.

“I’m 34 now, and when they first started providing support I believe the the cutoff was 18. I was 19 when that happened, and then when they changed it to 25 and under, I was 26.

“It was kind of a huge kick in the pants, so to speak.”

Living with diabetes is not cheap. Insulin pumps can cost thousands of dollars — a steep but essential requirement that allows insulin to be fed directly into your body.

“Diabetic supplies cost so much money per year,” Davies said. “A lot of people don’t have the right amount of health insurance that covers the cost completely.

“This is just another great advancement for many Type 1 diabetics in the province. In the next three years I could get another insulin pump and not have to pay out of pocket, which would be huge.”

Despite not qualifying for the coverage sooner, Davies believes this is a huge milestone for Saskatchewan residents.

“If people are finding out that this is covered, this could definitely help a lot of people,” Davies insisted. “I know from my standpoint, before taking or having an insulin pump I was doing multiple daily injections or MDI as we call it in the diabetic field. Having this added bonus will help a lot of people be able to live a healthier life.”

Enhanced funding for insulin pumps wasn’t the only significant announcement made by Moe in regards to diabetics in the province.

The cost of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for children under the age of 18 will be fully covered, giving families access to what Dustin Halvorson calls “life-changing” technology. His four-year-old daughter also has Type 1 diabetes.

“We would have even considered selling our house to downsize so that we could have afforded this technology,” Halvorson said. “That’s how much we believe that this is important. It would have been a part of our life regardless of coverage.

“I can’t understate to you how important this is. It’s a lifesaver.”

A CGM works through a tiny sensor inserted under a person’s skin, usually on their belly or arm. The sensor measures glucose found in the fluid between the cells, testing the glucose every few minutes. A transmitter wirelessly sends the information to a monitor, notifying someone if their levels are too high or too low.

“Every time you’re finger-poking your kid, they start to fight it or don’t like that. This technology makes it so you don’t need to finger-poke unless you really want to confirm a high or low number,” Halvorson said.

“It’s less strain on the kid, less strain on the parents, it allows the parents to still go to work. I think without the glucose monitor, I wouldn’t feel as comfortable working the hours that I do away from my child.

“The quality of life that we have as parents is better because of this technology.”

The technology would typically cost people around $300 a month to use, not including the significant cost of the insulin pump that would normally be used with it.

Roughly 300,000 people around the country are dealing with Type 1 diabetes. Diabetes Canada estimates there are between 5,300 and 10,600 Type 1 diabetics in Saskatchewan, with the number of total diabetics in the province expected to grow by more than 30 per cent in the next 10 years.

The province has not provided a specific date when the eligibility will be expanded, aside from indicating it will happen sometime in 2021.