Effective from July 1st, the Albanese Government has delivered on its commitment to give all 130,000 Australians with Type 1 diabetes access to subsidised CGM products under the National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS).
This will bring down the costs of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) products from $5000 per year to just $390 per year for Australians over the age of 21 with Type 1 diabetes.
Commenting on the initiative, Member for Werriwa Anne Stanley said, “This is not just an issue of equity for people suffering from a lifelong disease; it’s about caring for Australians who have to manage their condition every hour of every day.”
CGM will continue to be free of charge for those under 21 with Type 1 diabetes, concession card holders with Type 1 diabetes and those who are pregnant, post-pregnancy or trying to become pregnant and have Type 1 diabetes.
The Government is also delivering on its commitment to expand the eligibility criteria for the separate Insulin Pump Program.
This will provide an additional 35 fully subsidised insulin pumps a year to allow young adults aged 18 to 21 with type 1 diabetes from financially disadvantaged
families to benefit from this life-changing technology.
“Access to these technologies is likely to prevent complications in people with diabetes and reduce the significant social, human, and financial burden of this disease on government, health systems, and more importantly people and families of people with diabetes,” Ms Stanley said.
With the announcement, Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler acknowledged “the work of thousands of Australians living with Type 1 diabetes and their families who campaigned for this change, along with JDRF and Diabetes Australia.”
