Removal of government subsidy for blood sugar test strip would mean type 2 diabetics in Australia would pay $60/100 strips from $1.20

Strips for blood sugar testing is part of a diabetes kit, along with a glucometer, pen, needle, insulin and maintenance medication. But when the strip is so expensive, diabetics would scrimp and test their blood sugar level less which is the situation looming in Australia.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports that the federal government, which just got a fresh mandate in the July 2 election, removed the subsidy on test strips for type 2 diabetics who are not insulin dependent beginning July 1. There is, however, a six-month grace period, so until December, they could still buy the strips at subsidised cost. With the removal of the subsidy, they would have to pay $60 from $1.20 for a box of 100 strip beginning 2017 which would hike the cost of blood sugar testing 50 times.

The reason behind the subsidy removal is government claims the hike in health expenditure was unsustainable. It was the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) which recommended removing the subsidy because it found in a review that there is not much evidence the strips improve glucose control, quality of life or long-term complications.

The Department of Health cites a 2012 review by Cochrane Collaboration, respected globally, and a report in Canada on optimal medication prescription. A department spokeswoman explains that the 2013 review for strips by the PBAC was based on available evidence, not only submissions by individual clinicians and support groups.

However, Diabetes Australia disagrees, saying that measuring how effective test strips are in controlling blood sugar is similar to measuring a thermometer’s effectiveness to bring down fever. “Clinical outcomes and benefits cannot reasonably be expected to arise from the use of a measurement tool,” the health group says.

The group was backed by Stephen Colagiuri, metabolic health professor at the University of Sydney, that strips are an integral component of self-care for diabetics. Although the most effective way to control glucose levels is medication, the strips provide feedback on how the patient’s lifestyle habits affect their blood sugar level.

Type 2 diabetics who do not depend on insulin have been singled out apparently because of recent studies that type 2 diabetes could be reversed by exercise, proper diet and losing weight. The reason why their pancreas do not produce insulin is because it is enveloped by fat, unlike type 1 diabetics whose problem is the inability of the pancreas to produce insulin.

Type 2 non-insulin dependent diabetics worry because higher cost would mean limiting their ability to monitor their condition since measuring blood sugar level is done using the strips where they place a drop of blood and then the strip is inserted in the glucometer.

It is not just Australia which got a new government but also Britain following the Brexit referendum. The new prime minister who replaced David Cameron is Theresa May, a type 1 diabetic. How she would address similar concerns over NHS expenses would be interesting to monitor.

Besides May, another powerful woman who is a type 1 diabetic is US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, reports Diabetesincontrol.

VIDEO: People with type 2 diabetes not using insulin – How to get blood glucose monitoring strips – 2017