In 2006, I met a 4-year-old boy from Yarmouth named Aidan Sweeney, who testified before a congressional hearing I chaired regarding developments in Type 1 diabetes research. Diabetes not only affected Aidan’s quality of life, but it also caused great stress and worry for his parents.
Twelve years ago, the closed-loop artificial pancreas was a new technology on the horizon. Today, an initial version of the device is a reality. This March, I met again with Aidan and his mother, Caroline, who is the Maine Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Advocacy Team Chair, one month after he began using his artificial pancreas device.
Aidan told me how the technology has made his life a lot easier. He now has his driver’s license and is able to enjoy outings with family and friends without the constant worry that his blood sugar levels will spiral out of control. On a recent trip to Splashtown, Aidan’s artificial pancreas—which is waterproof—kept his blood sugar completely steady all day. Caroline said it was “a gift” to be able to take Aidan and his friends for ice cream afterwards without having to worry whether his blood sugar was too high. It has been a pleasure to watch Aidan grow up over the years and to witness the transformative power of medical research.
As the founder and co-chair of the Senate Diabetes Caucus, I have worked to increase awareness of the threats posed by diabetes, invest in research, and improve access to treatment options. Since I founded the Caucus in 1997, my first year in the Senate, funding for diabetes research has increased more than six-fold from $319 million to $2.02 billion this year.
More than 30 million Americans – 9.4 percent of the population – suffer from diabetes. About five percent of all diabetes cases are Type 1. This form of diabetes usually starts in childhood or adolescence and renders individuals insulin-dependent for life. Individuals with Type 1 must be injected daily with insulin (often multiple times) – or receive routine infusions of insulin to survive. Some 86 million Americans have prediabetes for Type 2, which develops later in life.
The statistics are overwhelming. In addition to the human suffering, diabetes costs the United States an estimated $327 billion per year, up from $245 billion in 2012. Diabetes also accounts for one out of three Medicare dollars.
Our response must be equally overwhelming. Despite the divisiveness in Washington, Congress is working in a bipartisan way to increase our investment. In June, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a bill to provide an additional $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health. It builds on a tradition of bipartisan support for biomedical research that will make a real difference in the lives of American families.
Our investments in research are producing results. For example, this June the Food and Drug Administration expanded approval of the artificial pancreas to include children from ages 7 to 13. The artificial pancreas is potentially the most significant advance in diabetes care since the discovery of insulin. Incidentally, the FDA first approved this technological advancement in September of 2016, exactly ten years and one day after I chaired a hearing on how the artificial pancreas could revolutionize diabetes care.
In addition to progress at FDA, CMS recently announced that Medicare will now support the use of smartphone applications in conjunction with continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) following a bipartisan letter I wrote to Administrator Seema Verma. While CGMs have been covered by Medicare since January 2017, beneficiaries using smartphone applications with these devices had risked losing coverage.
The artificial pancreas and the continuous glucose monitor are powerful devices that will improve the safety of millions of Americans with diabetes and help them to successfully manage the disease. Moreover, the government funding bill that was signed into law in February included a full two-year reauthorization of the Special Diabetes Program, which supports research into Type 1 diabetes and also treatment and prevention strategies for Type 2 among Native Americans, who are at higher risk of the disease.
Finally, the rising cost of insulin presents a barrier to care for a growing number of Americans with diabetes. Between 2002 and 2013, the average price of insulin nearly tripled, which has led people to skip doses, seek medication from other countries, or turn to the black market. These measures can result in major risks that can compromise health and even life. It is astounding that for a drug that is approaching 100 years old, we still do not have a generic. As Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, I held a hearing to examine what is occurring in the insulin market and will continue to press for greater transparency in drug pricing.
I am so pleased that my work, along with the determined advocacy of such people as Aidan and Caroline Sweeney, has spurred policies and investments that will help change our country’s future with regard to diabetes. I will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure that the millions of Americans living with diabetes have access to life-saving advancements.
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