INSULIN Act

The INSULIN Act is expected to be introduced early this year, and JDRF will continue to build support for it.  As a reminder, the INSULIN Act includes a $35 insulin co-pay cap for people with commercial insurance and it creates a  mechanism that significantly lowers the list price of insulin which will have a significant impact on people without insurance.

The bill will also be updated to account for the Inflation Reduction Act, including a $35 insulin co-pay cap for people on Medicare.

If you haven’t done so already, please be sure to complete the INSULIN Act Action Alert (www.jdrf.org/INSULINAct)  It’s the easiest way to register your support for insulin affordability.

SDP Renewal

The SDP (Special Diabetes Program) is a critical federal program to JDRF and the T1D Community, as it provides $150 million annually to the National Institutes of Health, the government’s lead medical research agency for T1D research.  The three year funding for this program expires at the end of September, and JDRF will be working diligently to ensure that SDP funding continues.

New Member Outreach Initiative (NMOI) // Jan 9 – April 23

Advocacy teams from around the country will be meeting with newly seated legislators to educate them on key issues related to T1D. We’ll be scheduling a meeting with our newly elected Representative Brad Finstad and rounding up attendees from District 1 to attend. If anybody would like to join a NMOI meeting, or knows a family or individual who might be interested, please email me at ahn57@icloud.com.

Health Policy

As you have probably heard, Tzield (teplizumab) has been approved by the FDA.  Like other innovative therapies, JDRF will advocate for broad coverage of this therapeutic class.  JDRF is working to  ensure everyone has access to this and all future cure therapies in the US.  JDRF is working to advance clinical guidelines to support research key for delivery system adoption of screening and monitoring, and is advocating to commercial and government payers for broad coverage of disease-modifying therapies like Tzield.

The Dexcom G7 was approved by the FDA in early December.  Dexcom is still working with the pump manufacturers to get approval for the use of the G7 with the closed loop systems.

Children’s Congress and Advocates in Action Council

The application deadlines for Children’s Congress and the Advocates in Action Council have officially closed. Delegates for the Children’s Congress and the leadership team for AAC will both be announced in January.

Stay tuned for more as the 118th Congress begins!

Ann Nerland

Advocacy Team Chair