Northerner
Admin (Retired)
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 1
A controversial proposal to change diabetes testing systems dominated a Pharmac hearing at Parliament this morning.
Pharmac is considering new funding arrangements for several diabetes management products, including switching to new diabetes blood glucose meters and test strips, which is expected to save about $10 million a year.
Diabetics have reacted angrily to the plans, protesting at Parliament yesterday and speaking out at consultation meetings in March about the disruption new machines could have for patients.
The system was in the spotlight again today when Pharmac's acting chief executive Steffan Crausaz appeared before Parliament's health committee for the organisation's financial review.
Labour MP Maryan Street led the charge, questioning why Pharmac was considering a "backwards step".
"Why would Pharmac choose to invest in a blood glucose meter that clearly doesn't have the functionality of already existing technologies?
"It doesn't have a backlight, it's got inferior batteries, it doesn't have the memory power, the test strips are smaller, and all those arguments that you know from the 3000 submissions you've received on this."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10803030
Pharmac is considering new funding arrangements for several diabetes management products, including switching to new diabetes blood glucose meters and test strips, which is expected to save about $10 million a year.
Diabetics have reacted angrily to the plans, protesting at Parliament yesterday and speaking out at consultation meetings in March about the disruption new machines could have for patients.
The system was in the spotlight again today when Pharmac's acting chief executive Steffan Crausaz appeared before Parliament's health committee for the organisation's financial review.
Labour MP Maryan Street led the charge, questioning why Pharmac was considering a "backwards step".
"Why would Pharmac choose to invest in a blood glucose meter that clearly doesn't have the functionality of already existing technologies?
"It doesn't have a backlight, it's got inferior batteries, it doesn't have the memory power, the test strips are smaller, and all those arguments that you know from the 3000 submissions you've received on this."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10803030