A re-elected Saskatchewan Party government promised to support those with the costs of living associated with diabetes. The government said they would expand the Saskatchewan Insulin Pump Program and cover the cost of Continuous Glucose Monitoring systems for children under 18 鈥� this announcement was made on Oct. 7.聽
鈥淲e understand that people with diabetes face unique challenges, so the Saskatchewan Party wants to help them manage their diabetes by reducing some of the financial burden,鈥� said Premier Scott Moe.聽鈥淲e will do that by covering the cost of insulin pumps for all ages and covering the cost of continuous glucose monitoring for children and youth.鈥澛�
The current Saskatchewan Insulin Pump Program introduced by the Saskatchewan Party government, covers the cost of insulin pumps and supplies for Saskatchewan residents under the age of 25 with Type 1 Diabetes.聽Eliminating the age restriction and expanding the program to cover all ages is expected to benefit about 400 individuals.聽
Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) systems are a comparatively new technology allowing users and those they share the information with like parents and caregivers, to monitor glucose levels in actual through the day and obtain the data via technology like smart phones.
Access to this technology would be helpful for parents with young children 鈥� they would be enabled to monitor their child鈥檚 glucose levels throughout the day, including when the child is asleep.聽
The incremental cost of the two programs is expected to be about $4.6 million per year, with slightly higher costs for the Saskatchewan Insulin Pump Program during the program鈥檚 initial expansion.聽
鈥淢aking life more affordable and helping Saskatchewan residents manage their diabetes 鈥� it鈥檚 part of our plan for a strong Saskatchewan,鈥� said the premier.
