Press Releases

Senate Bill Would Eliminate Medicare Patient Barriers to Advanced Diabetes Technologies

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed) issued the following statement from President and CEO Scott Whitaker on the introduction of legislation in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to improve Medicare beneficiaries’ access to innovative diabetes management technologies:

“Advanced technologies such as insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors are transforming the lives of people with diabetes, helping them to manage their conditions more effectively and improving their overall health. CMS has made great progress in ensuring patient access to new treatment options, and we believe further reforms would allow Medicare patients to take full advantage of these innovative technologies.

“The legislation introduced by Sens. Collins and Shaheen will help patients access the treatments they need by creating a special task force within HHS dedicated to identifying and addressing any obstacles that come between a Medicare beneficiary and a necessary diabetes technology. We thank Sens. Collins and Shaheen for their leadership.”

Composed of diabetes experts from CMS, FDA, patient and physician groups, and industry, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) task force will look at existing and potentially new benefit categories and FDA/CMS inter-agency collaboration, among other issues, and provide a report on recommendations annually to HHS and CMS.

Creation of this HHS task force has been a top priority of AdvaMed’s Diabetes Sector.