Manitobans with diabetes call for modern technology to manage disease

A group of Manitobans with Type 1 diabetes showed off vintage technology outside the legislature steps Tuesday to call for better coverage to afford up-to-date medical supplies.

There is modern technology to measure blood sugar levels, namely continuous glucose monitors — devices that people with diabetes can wear that will track their blood sugar every few minutes around the clock. Notifications are sent to a person's phone about their levels, and warns them whenever they reach extremes.

Diabetes Canada recommends provincial governments cover the costs of CGMs but Manitoba currently pays the cost of manual finger-prick tests. 

"Those manual finger-prick kits, they date back from the 1980s. There's much better technology available but it's not funded in Manitoba," said Trevor Kirczenow, a member of Emergency Diabetes Support for Manitobans, a grassroots group that organized Tuesday's demonstration, which they called the Antique Diabetes Roadshow.

People with Type 1 diabetes must ensure their blood sugar levels remain within a certain range. If they get too low, people could suffer seizures or end up in a coma.

If they get too high, people could wind up in hospital or die, said Kirczenow.

"It's life and death that we're talking about," he said. "This is something that people who need to manage their diabetes with insulin have to deal with every single day, 24 hours a day."

Many things can affect blood sugar levels including activity level, food, the temperature and hormones, said Kirczenow. "It's just a very complex disease to manage."

Right now, Manitoba covers 10 finger-prick tests per day, which amounts to about $3,300 over the course of a year, he said.

CGMs cost $3,000 to $6,000 per year, depending on the manufacturer, according to Diabetes Canada.

Kirczenow argues that the cost is worth it because of the device's dramatic impact on the quality of care for patients.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister hinted in Tuesday that the health ministry is looking at this particular issue.

"I believe that Heather Stephanson, our health minister, has actually already done some consulting on a number of these issues, that one included," Pallister told reporters during an unrelated news conference.

"We'll look forward to seeing if there's more to say on that in the not-too-distant future."

Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont told reporters Tuesday that he supports CGMs being covered by Manitoba's pharmacare plan.

"Lots of families and children are all of a sudden stuck having to pay pretty large bills for either testing or for diabetes supplies. This is something that should be covered as part of pharmacare," he said.

"If we had continuous glucose monitoring, we could actually make a huge difference."