June CGM Subsidy update

This is a follow-up to last month’s “CGM Subsidy update: what DO we know?” post. It’s been almost a month, and we’re getting close to that “July 1st” date. So time for a refresh:

On the 10th of June NDSS essentially said that “things are in the works”. But there have been crickets since.

The 1st of July is now only a week away. There has been no official information yet.

I’m hoping that we see the NDSS forms update then, and the processes can start rolling and we can talk to our HCPs about getting registered.
But despite some companies loudly stating that the subsidy “will” come into effect then, that may just be marketing bluster.

Meanwhile, there are some rumours going around this week that it might end up being Monday the 1st of August. However I don’t know if those are just attempts to change expectations and soften disappointment if there’s any delay. Certainly NDSS usually rolls out updates on the 1st of a month, but not always.

Bottom line: We still don’t know. We’re all hoping for July 1, but it’s just hope. I’ve been pointing this out in previous articles.

So what do we do?

We can keep in touch with our elected representatives and remind them of the promise from all the major parties to implement this system on the 1st of July.

And we continue to get ready. If we’re currently relying on CGM then we’ll want to make sure we don’t run out of sensors before the subsidy kicks in.  If you haven’t already, sketch out on your calendar how far your current supply will hold you out. Will it get you to mid-July? Mid-August?

You might end up buying another batch of sensors at full price (or continuing with your subscription if you have one). But there are options:

• Abbott (Libre2) have been sending out emails to people on its customer list (maybe sign up for their email list if you haven’t seen it yet). In the email is a link to a survey: complete the survey and they send you a coupon code, which you can use in their web store to get one Libre2 sensor sent to you for free. Delivery on these has been fairly prompt.
• AMSL (Dexcom) have a trial deal where for $32.50 you can get a transmitter and two sensors. Do note that delivery on these is fairly slow. I don’t know anyone who’s received it in under a week from their order.

I haven’t yet seen any trial offers like that from Medtronic, but they do continue to talk about upgrading everyone’s Medtronic pumps to 780G (with their latest generation of closed-loop AID system) once they register for the compatible CGM through NDSS (which we can’t do yet of course). In some cases this upgrade would involve a loan pump until your current pump is otherwise due for replacement.
I don’t think this Medtronic upgrade will apply early to people already on the CGM Subsidy: it may have to wait until the subsidy expands.

Try them out – experiment!

With those deals not only can you pick up some spare sensors to get you through a delay, but you can experiment with systems you haven’t used before so you “know what you’re missing” when you register with NDSS for a particular CGM.

Whichever CGM you’ve been using (or if you haven’t used any before) I heartily recommend experimenting with one or more to compare! If you have the freedom to wear two at once that can teach you a lot.

When the subsidy expands and we have to decide which we will use, it should help to have some experience under our belts. Of course we will be able to change later, but that will involve more paperwork with HCPs, etc.

Meanwhile

We continue to hope that the system is ready at the end of next week. I have a phone consult booked with my endo for the week after so we can update the registration if necessary. Hopefully I don’t have to reschedule that.