(Washington D.C., Monday, March 4, 2019) – JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. The nonprofit organization focuses on accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent, and treat T1D. Since 1970, JDRF has committed more than $2 billion in cumulative research funding to move closer to this goal and to do the greatest good, for the largest number of people, in the shortest period of time.

JDRF Government Day 2019 will take place Sunday, March 3, through Wednesday, March 6, 2019, in Washington, D.C. During Government Day, more than 150 JDRF advocates will be on Capitol Hill to meet with Members of Congress to discuss these priority issues:

• The importance of affordability and choice when it comes to coverage for insulin and other diabetes management tools.
• The long-term funding for the Special Diabetes Programs (SDP), which funds critical diabetes research across the country through the National Institutes of Health. Renewal of the SDP ensures this important research can continue.

Insulin is a lifesaving drug for the 1.25 million Americans with T1D who are dependent on injected or pumped insulin to manage their blood-glucose levels. Access to insulin is a matter of life and death, yet insulin costs have soared, and people with T1D incur almost three times the level of medical expenses compared to people without diabetes.

It is absolutely crucial that all people with T1D have affordable access to insulin, meaning it should be available at a low, predictable out-of-pocket cost. JDRF also believes people with T1D should have access to the insulins that work best for them.

JDRF has been fighting for choice not only of insulin, but also choice of insulins pumps, test strips, continuous glucose monitors, and artificial pancreas systems, to enable people with T1D to access the technologies that work best for them.

Recently, UnitedHealthcare announced a policy change that that limits insulin pumps for children with T1D: The nation’s largest insurer is no longer covering all brands of insulin pumps for children as young as age 7. JDRF strongly believes that every person with T1D, no matter their age, should have the freedom to decide which insulin pump is right for them — it should be a choice made by them and their doctors, not their insurance company. This is an unacceptable step backward and JDRF is urging UnitedHealthcare to reconsider its decision and asking the diabetes community to take action by voicing opposition.