Sign the Petition in Support of CGM Access for All

I’ve been using FreeStyle Libre intermittently since May 2016, before making the leap to full time CGM in September 2019.

Today, continuous glucose monitoring is something I couldn’t live without.

I acknowledge my privilege in being able to say this.

I can’t imagine not being able to glance at my phone and see updated blood glucose readings every five minutes, or the safeguard of having alarms alerting me to out of range levels while I sleep.

For most adults in Australia, with the exception of those who meet strict eligibility criteria, funding for CGM comes out of our own pockets. Those who do meet the strict criteria face losing access to the subsidy once their circumstances change – whether it be turning 21, no longer being pregnant or no longer qualifying for a health care card.

The only way that I can afford this technology right now is through the generosity of the diabetes community. By using transmitters that have been very generously donated and rebatteried, and by restarting sensors that are hanging on my arm by a thread.

Even that still costs me a good $1,500 or so per year.

There’s a pretty important petition that’s been circulating recently on the Parliament of Australia website, calling on the government to fully subsidise CGM for all Aussies with type 1 diabetes.

If you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to add your signature and then share the link far and wide.

https://www.aph.gov.au/petition_sign?id=EN2168

From the bottom of my busted pancreas, thank you.