Pharmac signals first step towards funding continuous glucose monitors

Diabetic Keri Winter recently tried a glucose monitor but wished she hadn’t – while it changed her life she couldn’t afford to keep using it.

Now she has hope she can.

Pharmac announced on Tuesday it was looking into the first steps towards funding continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes.

Winter, 26, who has suffered from type one diabetes for 17 years, said the technology is “life-changing” and she wishes it had been around when she was diagnosed at nine years old.

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“My childhood and teenage years would have been a lot different, less complications, less trips to hospital and more time to just be a kid,” she said.

In a statement, Government drug-funding agency Pharmac said it will soon be seeking competitive commercial offers for the supply of funded continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in New Zealand.

The monitors are the size of a mobile phone and operate via a small sensor which is attached to a patient’s arm.

The device allows a person to track their glucose levels over the space of a day and provides alerts to a loved one or family member if they drop below a safe threshold.

Pharmac director of operations Lisa Williams said they would need CGMs, insulin pumps, and insulin pump consumables.

“This is a preliminary stage in government procurement processes which signals to the supplier market, and New Zealanders, that we are getting closer to considering funding CGMs and gives time to the suppliers to prepare their pricing proposals.”

“We have heard from people living with diabetes, their whānau and the healthcare sector that CGMs are an important tool for monitoring blood glucose levels, and we agree,” Williams said.

Winter began trialling a CGM last year.

“It made my life so much better. I go to sleep with good sugar levels and wake up with basically the same level which is amazing all because my sensor and pump are constantly talking to each other.

“When I didn’t have the [glucose monitor] I was testing my sugar levels five to eight times a day. Now I’m testing them maybe once every 10 days.

“I wish I had never tried it because I know once the trial ends I’m left with the decision, do I carry on like I was struggling or do I start paying the $86 a week and cut back doing things I enjoy. It just seems so unfair,” she said.

Pharmac has previously signalled it wants to fund the devices, and now with budget increases from the Government, depending on pricing offered by suppliers, they think funding CGMs may be possible.

Pharmac has assessed three different CGMs for type one diabetes, including the Dexcom, the FreeStyle Libre and Medtronic.

“At this stage, the details of funding such as brand, eligibility criteria or a timeframe for funding has not been determined. As our procurement activity progresses Pharmac will work with the diabetes community and share more information with the wider public,” Williams said.