AADE tip sheets help navigate CMS Competitive Bidding Program for diabetes supplies

The American Association of Diabetes Educators released two tip sheets to help people with diabetes and health care providers navigate Medicare’s National Mail Order Program for diabetes testing supplies.

The tip sheets, developed by the AADE Professional Practice Committee and published online March 23, follow a congressional budget deal reached in February that includes several changes to Medicare’s Competitive Bidding Program (CBP), among them a strengthening of the so-called 50% and anti-switching rules that affect patient access to diabetes testing supplies. The new resources outline necessary steps needed to receive supplies, including blood glucose meters, replacement batteries, test strips and lancets, and clarify questions about what Medicare will cover and what to do if trusted supplies are not carried by suppliers.

“There’s a saying that 99% of chronic disease state management is in the hands of the individual through self-management principles,” Katherine O’Neal, PharmD, MBA, BCACP, CDE, AEC, BC-ADM, associate professor in the department of pharmacy at the University of Oklahoma, told Endocrine Today. “However, if we don’t empower people with the appropriate resources and correct information, we are doing them a disservice and setting them up for failure. AADE created these tip sheets to raise awareness for people with diabetes and diabetes educators, and to empower them with information so that they could make an informed decision for their diabetes self-care.”

The February fiscal bill, which followed a brief, overnight government shutdown, included language from the Protecting Access to Diabetes Supplies Act, designed to strengthen protections for Medicare beneficiaries who buy blood glucose testing supplies through the National Mail Order CBP. The new language strengthens enforcement of current law requirements that suppliers in the CBP include at least 50% of the types of test systems that were on the market before the CBP’s implementation. The changes also bolster consumer protections that prohibit suppliers from encouraging beneficiaries to switch from one testing system to another.

Since CMS implemented the CBP for diabetes testing supplies purchased through mail-order suppliers in January 2011, several reports have noted that product choices are limited through the program, likely influencing patient health outcomes.

“These tip sheets created by AADE clearly explain ways that our Medicare diabetes community can save money without sacrificing quality for the meters they trust,” Christel Aprigliano, CEO of the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition, told Endocrine Today. “Shared decision-making is a key component of the successful relationships between people with diabetes and health care professionals, and the tip shneweets make it easy to make successful choices.” – by Regina Schaffer