Dr Ashley Ng

Since meeting people with type 1 diabetes during my early diagnosis days, my little brain has been blown by the technology available and accessible. In those days, I fought a losing battle to allow people with type 2 diabetes gain the same access to subisidies to technology that would change people’s lives and their diabetes management. Over time, I felt more and more defeated and hopeless around the advocacy behind this.

I even saw people with type 2 diabetes lose access to subsidies for blood glucose monitoring test strips if they weren’t on insulin. The inaction from the government and lack of uproar and advocacy made it seem like type 2 diabetes wasn’t as important to fight for. Especially when compared to when Fiasp was dropped from the PBS. The community were loud and rallied and advocated until it was put back on. I’m guilty as anyone for losing hope and backing down from the fight. Extra guilty, in fact, because I ended up being able to access the technology that my peers with type 2 aren’t able to due to a technicality and rediagnosis.

So you can imagine my excitement when I heard of the proposal to the federal government for funds to trial CGM access for people with type 2 diabetes on insulin. I remember people crying when CGM subsidies for people with type 1 was announced. But for me, this was the one that made my teary. So many feelings of joy, excitement, relief, guilt and hope all rolled up into one. Ironically I appeared on a media clip about the announcement without even realising what it was for. The brief I was given was diabetes stigma, which made sense when you’re looking at the big picture.

What do we do now? It’s certainly a great time to get in touch with your local minister to chat to them about this proposal. We need to make sure it doesn’t get buried or brused aside. Having access to CGM for people with type 2 on insulin will be life changing for many people. And this is a great time to show solidarity as a whole diabetes community to support our friends with type 2. If we could muster up that ferocious advocacy that we have for matters related to type 1 on this proposal, I’m confident we can get it over the line.