FDA may require glucose monitors to be more accurate

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may soon require glucose monitors used by more than 11 million diabetics in the U.S. to be more accurate, Gardiner Harris reports in the New York Times.

Under current standards, these monitors can be off by as much as 20 percent putting patients at risk for dangerously low blood sugars, which can cause seizures, brain damage, and death.

To learn more:

• Read Gardiner Harris’ article: Standards Might Rise on Monitors for Diabetics.
• American Diabetes Association: www.diabetes.org
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Northwest Chaper: www.jdrfnorthwest.org
• National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse: www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov

Cantwell bills would boost services for elderly and disabled

In an op-ed piece in the Seattle Times, former former deputy secretary of Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services Charles Reed says health reform must not overlook the longer-term care needs of older Americans and people with disabilities.

Community-based services allow the elderly and disabled to stay in their homes and out of more expensive nursing facilities, he writes.

He points to two bills sponsored by Washington’s U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell that would expand access to home- and community-based services (HCBS”:  S. 1256, the Home and Community Balanced Incentives Act, and S. 1257, the Project 2020: Building on the Promise of Home and Community-Based Services Act.

If passed, the bills will “offer smart, compassionate long-term-care options, as well as incentives for states to build more robust and consumer-oriented long-term-care programs,” writes Reed.

To learn more:

• Read Charle Reed’s opinion piece: Long-term-care reform must provide consumer choice while saving money.
• Read the column by Howard Gleckman below.
• Read the press release from Sen. Cantwell’s office on the legislation.

Obama team plans Internet and media blitz on health-care reform

The White House is launching a major media campaign to increase public pressure on Congress to pass substantive health-care reform legislation, Washington Post reporters Michael Shearer and Shailagh Murray write.

“Senior White House aides promise “an aggressive public and private schedule” for Obama as he presses his case for reform, including a prime-time news conference on Wednesday, a trip to Cleveland, and heavy use of Internet video to broadcast his message beyond the reach of the traditional media.”

To learn more:

• Read Shearer and Murray’s article:President Is Set to ‘Take the Baton’.
• Read LocalHealthGuide’s: Obama argues health-reform cannot wait.

Tags: Cantwell, Diabetes, Disabled, DM, Elderly, Glucose Monitors, Long-term Care, Nursing Homes, Obama, Type 1 Diabetes

Category: Diabetes, Health Insurance, Health-care Policy, Healthcare Reform, Insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Senior Health