Sens. Shaheen & Collins Introduce Legislation to Delay Including Diabetes Products in CB Program for 5 Years

Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME), Co-Chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, have introduced legislation aimed at improving access to diabetes technologies that includes provisions to keep insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) out of the DMEPOS Competitive Bidding (CB) Program for 5 years.

The Diabetes Interventions Addressing Barriers to Enrollment, Technology, and Education Services Act (Diabetes Act), S. 4037, also expands Medicare coverage of diabetes self-management training sessions, where diabetes educators help train Medicare patients on how to manage the disease and use complex diabetes technologies.

“Senators Shaheen and Collins have a long record of standing by the millions of Americans who use diabetes products and working to ensure they can benefit from continuing technological advances for these devices,” said Tom Ryan, AAHomecare President & CEO. “Their new legislation is an important step forward in protecting access to these critically important products and maintaining a robust supplier infrastructure to support patients.”

“I know that diabetes stakeholders in our industry are ready to engage their legislators on this issue,” added Ryan. “That enthusiasm, coupled with the support from leading diabetes advocacy groups who have endorsed this bill, will make a strong impact on Capitol Hill.”

Full text of the legislation can be found here. Provisions delaying the inclusion of diabetes products can be found on pages 18-19.

AAHomecare will provide messaging and resources for asking your Senators to support and co-sponsor this legislation soon. See Sen. Shaheen and Collins press release for additional information.