Rep. Nanette Barragán Urges HHS Secretary to Expand Access to Life-Saving Glucose Monitoring Technology
Washington, D.C. — Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) called on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services or HHS, to take immediate action and work with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services or CMS to expand Medicare coverage of continuous glucose monitors or CGMs for the millions of Americans living with diabetes.
In a letter sent following Secretary Kennedy’s testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, Rep. Barragán highlighted how current policies limit coverage for glucose monitors for millions of seniors and vulnerable populations across the country. During the hearing on April 21, Rep. Barragán had shared her own mother’s experience navigating Medicare and Medicaid, through which access to the glucose monitoring technology was limited until her condition worsened. Currently, Medicare coverage of CGMs is limited to individuals with diabetes who use insulin or individuals who can document severe hypoglycemic events— criteria that exclude the majority of Medicare beneficiaries living with diabetes.
Diabetes affects more than 38 million Americans, including approximately one in three Medicare beneficiaries, and costs the U.S. healthcare system over $400 billion annually. Individuals with diabetes face medical expenses more than twice as high as those without the condition, largely due to preventable complications. CGMs are a major advancement in diabetes care, which allow patients to track glucose in real time, reduce dangerous hypoglycemic events, and lowers hospitalizations and emergency room visits—key drivers of Medicare spending.
In her letter, Rep. Barragán called on HHS and CMS to:
- Use its existing regulatory authority to expand Medicare coverage of CGMs to all beneficiaries with diabetes; and
- Provide a detailed update on steps being taken to improve access to glucose monitoring technologies for Medicare and Medicaid patients.
Details: Find the full letter HERE.
Rep. Barragán Leads Bicameral Opposition to New EPA Rule Along with Other Elected’s
Washington, D.C. – Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.-44), Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.-10) led 38 members from both chambers in opposition of EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s Risk Management Program or RMP Rule. The Common Sense Approach to Chemical Accident Prevention rule would weaken 2024 protections enacted to keep workers, emergency responders, and communities safe from chemical disasters.
“[This] proposal would undo core preventive measures and unnecessarily threaten the lives and health of workers, emergency responders, and fenceline communities, including the one in three children who go to school in a chemical danger zone,” the Members wrote in a letter to Administrator Zeldin. “Recent chemical emergencies and disasters such as the deadly explosions at the Valero refinery in Ardmore, Oklahoma and at Koch foods in Fairfield, Ohio—along with the recent findings of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board—highlight the shortcomings of the proposed rule and demonstrate the risk these rollbacks pose to the workers at RMP facilities and to the communities near them.”
“All communities deserve to live their daily lives free from toxic exposure,” the Members continued. “We call on you to fully implement, not undo, the 2024 Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule and we look forward to working with you to ensure that the communities we represent, and those across the country, are protected from the danger of chemical disasters by a truly preventative Risk Management Program.”
Details: Find the full text of the letter here.