Sask. government expands coverage of glucose monitors for young adult and senior diabetics

Chris Edwards · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 02, 2025 7:02 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The Saskatchewan authorities is expanding sum of precocious glucose monitors, which measurement humor sweetener levels, for young adult and senior diabetics in the province.

Diabetes is simply a illness that affects however a assemblage turns nutrient into energy. By monitoring humor sweetener levels, people can amended negociate the information and forestall life-threatening emergencies.

As of April 1, radical betwixt the ages of 18 and 25 and 65 and older volition person their glucose monitors afloat covered by the government. In the past, lone children nether 18 had the costs covered.

Advanced glucose monitors are sensors radical tin attach to their arm successful bid to send glucose level readings to physics devices similar astute phones each fewer minutes. 

Before the usage of glucose monitors, radical with diabetes would person to get a driblet of humor from a digit prick whenever they wanted to cheque their levels. 

"It's a caller life. It gives you a existent accidental of taking control," said Robert Gawley, a 91-year-old from Regina who has had Type 1 diabetes for implicit 60 years. 

Gawley has been utilizing a glucose show done a backstage health-care program for the past 4 years, but is grateful that different seniors volition present beryllium capable to usage it. Before helium had the device, helium said, helium would person to prick his digit 4 times a day.

"It's a substance of not adjacent a second, and I cognize what my humor sweetener level is," helium said. "I would surely urge them to anyone." 

According to the Saskatchewan government, the instrumentality volition present beryllium accessible to 9,000 seniors and 700 young adults successful the province. The full outgo of the enlargement volition beryllium $23 million. 

Michelle Archer, a Regina-based dietitian and diabetes educator, said she's precise excited astir the expanded coverage.

"It is thing we've been advocating for for years," she said. "The immense bulk of the seniors that I cognize connected insulin were not utilizing this technology, oregon they were utilizing it precise sporadically."

However, Archer said she's disquieted astir the quality of beingness for adults who can't spend the devices.

"It truly puts their attraction astatine a compromise. They aren't capable to spot the patterns," she said. "They're relying connected digit poke investigating and yes, they bash get other strips erstwhile they are connected insulin, but tin you ideate poking your fingers seven, 10 times a day, each time for the remainder of your life?"

According to Diabetes Canada, which advocates for radical with diabetes, the outgo of a monitoring instrumentality without a health-care program ranges betwixt $250 to $500 per month.

"I deliberation it's by acold the astir important happening that idiosyncratic with diabetes tin have," said Jeremy Storring, an advocator for Diabetes Canada from Saskatoon. "Since I've started utilizing one, I haven't had immoderate exigency country visits."

Storring said the continued deficiency of sum for astir adults has disappointed him. "There are perfectly radical successful that property scope that can't spend it," helium said.

While Storring's show is paid for by his employer's health-care plan, helium said, helium worries astir what would hap if helium mislaid his job.

"I would person a overmuch higher premium if I wanted to get backstage insurance," helium said. "And that's ever been thing that's been similar astatine the backmost of my mind, adjacent increasing up. It's similar I request to marque definite that I person a bully occupation truthful I tin spend each of these things."

Storring besides said that expanding eligibility to each adults would prevention the authorities wealth successful exigency country visits.

"Sure, the upfront outgo of conscionable the show is $3,600 a year," helium said. "But if I spell to the infirmary for immoderate diabetes-related complication, that 1 incidental is going to surpass the magnitude that they would walk connected monitors successful 5 years."

In a statement, the Saskatchewan authorities said it isn't closing the doorway for aboriginal sum changes.

"In time, determination whitethorn beryllium further updates to the eligibility criteria. Funding for this would beryllium considered wrong the mean fund cycle," it said.