A Kiwi dad is welcoming Pharmac's decision to consider funding a life-changing diabetes device that currently costs his family more than $5000 a year.
It comes after Newshub highlighted the importance of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) and the need for public funding last year.
Jared Summers and his six-year-old daughter both have type 1 diabetes which they manage using (CGMs) - but it comes at a significant cost.
Summers, who is the Deputy Principal of Birchville School in Upper Hutt, told Newshub CGMs are life-changing for people with diabetes and if they were funded would save his family hundreds of dollars a week - savings that could be put towards paying their mortgage as the cost of living and interest rates continue to increase.
"It's awesome [Pharmac is considering funding CGMs]. It would save us hundreds of dollars a fortnight which is something, especially with interest rates going up, that's going to help," he told Newshub.
Summers said if it is funded they will have a family day out to celebrate.
"We will do a day where Sophie just gets to choose what she wants to do because she has to live with this.
"When she grows up to be a teenager, rather than thinking once she's finished school how is she going to pay for this, [she can just focus on being a teenager]."
Last year Summers told Newhub about the scary realities of living with diabetes without CGMs. He said when Sophie was first diagnosed, he and his partner Rachel barely slept because they were worried she was going to slip into a coma in her sleep.
"When she was diagnosed we didn't have the CGM and she can't tell when she's going low. If I have a low in the night, I wake myself up - my body knows - whereas she doesn't know those signs yet.
"We had to get up [every two hours] to check her blood sugars to make sure she was okay because it could be catastrophic if she has a low during the night and doesn't wake up.
"But with the CGM, we still don't sleep as deeply as we used to, but it's lots more peace of mind that the machine will do what it's meant to do."
Blood glucose levels that are too low can be dangerous and result in coma, seizures, loss of consciousness and hospitalisation.
He said the CGM has completely changed their life and begged Pharmac to fund them so everyone can experience the benefits.
Summers spent most of his life managing his diabetes through finger prick blood sugar tests, but after Sophie was diagnosed as a toddler, he and his wife Rachel saved up to get them both CGMs.
A CGM attaches to the arm or stomach and gives an accurate blood glucose level in seconds through a digital sensor. It also shows whether levels are dropping or rising, allowing users to prevent them from going too high or low.
The CGM has been life-changing but they are expensive and it's not just a one-off cost either. Currently, the family spends $200 a fortnight for the basic version - an expense of $5200 each year. They both use the Libre CGM, which is a basic device. A more advanced CGM, made by Dexcom, costs nearly $400 a month per person, making it completely unaffordable to them.
"The basic one is like bare bones but it does the job," Summers said. He added he would love to be able to get the Dexcom, even just for Sophie, but the cost is too prohibitive.
"It's definitely frustrating that we can't afford the Dexcom…But the basic works, so even if the basic one was funded that would be amazing. It would make a huge difference for any diabetic."
Pharmac announced this week it is looking into funding either the Dexcom, the FreeStyle Libre or Medtronic CGM.
"We have issued a Future Procurement Opportunity for CGMs, insulin pumps, and insulin pump consumables," said Pharmac's director of operations Lisa Williams.
"This is a preliminary stage in government procurement processes which signals to the supplier market, and New Zealanders, we are getting closer to considering funding CGMs and gives time to the suppliers to prepare their pricing proposals."
Williams said Pharmac knows how important CGMs are and has wanted to fund them for some time but didn't have the money. However recent Government funding increases mean, depending on pricing, funding CGMs may be possible.
"At this stage, the details of funding such as brand, eligibility criteria or a timeframe for funding has not been determined - we realise there are lots of potential options so will be looking for the best way to achieve funding of these products for New Zealanders," Williams said.
Diabetes New Zealand has been campaigning for Pharmac to fund CGMs and FGMs (flash glucose monitors) for some time.
The organisation's CEO Heather Verry told Newshub in 2022 the devices significantly change the lives of anyone dependent on insulin, including more than 25,000 children and adults living with type 1 diabetes and many more with type 2.
"It's about time the Government took the needs of the diabetes community seriously. We need action now to give people with diabetes the support they deserve," Verry said.
"Because CGMs aren't funded, many New Zealanders, including children, living with diabetes will never experience the life-changing, life-saving benefits - and that's not good enough!
"This equipment shouldn't be treated as a luxury. The technology to live a normal, healthy life is there, but Kiwis aren’t given access to it."
But while it's a step in the right direction, Summers now faces an anxious wait to see if it actually does get funded.
