To: President Donald Trump, The United States House of Representatives, and The United States Senate

Diabetics Denied Life Changing Device

Medicare considers Continuous Glucose Monitoring Systems (CGMS) to be experimental, even though most commercial insurances, and some Medicare Advantage Plans cover them as Durable Medical Equipment (DME)

Why is this important?

I have diabetes, and have lost consciousness, and thought to be drunk because my blood sugars have gone very high or low. I am not able to obtain a Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS) because medicare considers it "experimental" even though it has been proven to help diabetics.

H.R.3710 [Rep. Shea-Porter, Carol [D-NH-1] (Introduced 12/11/2013)]- Medicare CGM Coverage Act - Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to cover continuous glucose monitoring systems (CGMS) (including a transmitter, receiver, sensors, and test strips required for use) as durable medical equipment (DME).

A Continuous Glucose Monitoring System (CGMS) is vitally important to many diabetics. This device continuously monitors blood sugars, and alerts when blood sugars start to go dangerously low or high. A CGMS uses a disposable sensor that is placed under the skin every three to seven days and sends a signal to a remote receiver. The receiver provides an estimated blood glucose (sugar) level every five minutes. This allows you to track whether blood glucose is moving up or down (and how fast). The receiver can sound an alarm if the level is too high or too low, or if it is rising or falling too rapidly, so you can take action to correct it. It allows you to detect patterns of highs and lows, so that treatments and habits can be modified to safely improve control.

Keeping blood sugars as normal as possible reduces the chances of complications in diabetics, and can reduce the number of Emergency Room visits, and reduce the time required by Medics and Police Officers to tend to "Drunken" calls and passed out diabetics.

The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a study October 2, 2008, [http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa0805017] proving CGMS can be associated with improved blood sugar control in adults with type 1 diabetes.

Even with this, and other studies, medicare still considers the CGMS "experimental". There are some medicare advantage plans that cover CGMS, but these plans are regional, and not available to all patients that need a CGMS. CGMS is now a covered benefit for 70 to 80 percent of Americans who have commercial insurance.

This petition will save lives, and offer a better life for diabetics.