In an important advocacy victory for our members and their patients, we are encouraged to see that Medicare beneficiaries will be able to use smart phone applications in conjunction with their continuous glucose monitors. Our members and staff have been calling for access to this important safety net, which can help protect patients who experience hypoglycemic events.
We and other Diabetes Advocacy Alliance members — including the American Diabetes Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, the American Association of Diabetes Educators, the National Federation for the Blind and the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists—raised the need for this policy change in a meeting with officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services June 6, just days before the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the decision.