More Support for Diabetes Patients

The Liberal National Government has announced that we will invest more than $100 million to support more type 1 diabetes patients by expanding free access to glucose monitoring devices, saving people up to $7,000 a year.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that attacks a person’s ability to produce insulin, and it is critical that people with this condition must be able to monitor their glucose levels day and night. This means that this investment will be a significant help for the estimated 37,000 people with type 1 diabetes who will have access to a free glucose monitoring device as a result of the Coalition’s funding over the next four years.

From March 1 2019, under the National Diabetes Services Scheme, the eligibility for fully subsidised continuous glucose monitoring devices will be expanded to include:

• Women with type 1 diabetes who are pregnant, breastfeeding or actively planning pregnancy
• People with type 1 diabetes aged 21 years or older who have concessional status, and who have high clinical need such as experiencing recurrent severe hypoglycaemic events, and
• Children and young people with conditions similar to type 1 diabetes who require insulin.

In line with a commitment made during the 2016 federal election, the Coalition Government has already made access to glucose monitoring products available to eligible children and young people aged under 21 years with type 1 diabetes, amounting to nearly 9,500 young Australians.

Expanding access to these glucose devices will bring peace of mind to more Australians with type 1 diabetes and improve their quality of life, reducing the stress and anxiety caused by living with this disease and limiting the need for emergency visits to hospital.

With around 5.4% of Sturt constituents as registered diabetes suffers, it is also great to know that more diabetes patients in Sturt will be able to access the devices they need to monitor their disease.

The investment is also a good example of the Morrison Government’s strong economic management and the way that this means we can ensure more patients have access to a greater amount of life-saving and life-improving medicines and treatment.

Visit https://www.ndss.com.au/ for more information on the National Diabetes Services Scheme.