End of government program providing insulin pumps leaves Alberta families in the dark

Albertans living with type 1 diabetes are calling for clarity, compassion and consultation surrounding the end of a provincial program that provided insulin pumps and supplies to those without coverage.

Albertans living with type 1 diabetes are calling for clarity, compassion and consultation surrounding the end of a provincial program that provided insulin pumps and supplies to those without coverage.

Many of the estimated 4,000 Albertans on the Insulin Pump Therapy Program say they learned the program was being discontinued through a government news release last week.

“The stress this has put on families is immeasurable,” said Jason Behm, whose six-year-old son Connor was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of two.

Alberta Health maintains the change will give those living with diabetes access to newer and more technologically advanced insulin pumps. The plan is to have all those using the Insulin Pump Therapy Program enrolled in government-sponsored insurance, like Blue Cross, by Aug. 1.

However, a week after the government announced the change, many of those on the program are still waiting for answers as to what it will cost them. The change will include premiums and co-pays not included under previous coverage.

Premier Jason Kenney was asked about the change Monday. He noted the majority of those covered by the program have some form of private insurance.

But the founder of a new advocacy group to fight the change, Protect Insulin Pump Therapy Program, refutes this.

“It’s not full coverage,” said Lesley Thompson, noting how a large portion of employer-backed insurance doesn’t cover pumps, often because the government already does.


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Behm called his insurance provider because the whole affair has been “a little bit ambiguous,” he says. His son Connor’s pump costs $6,300 outright, with $300 monthly in maintenance fees.

Behm says access to the pump when insurance doesn’t cover it is not just life-changing for his son, but for the whole family. Before having the device, they struggled to find a daycare that would accept a child requiring insulin injections.

“Since Connor has an insulin pump, he can safely go to school with minimal support and still be safe,” said Behm at a press conference hosted by the Opposition NDP.

The Alberta father fears what could happen if his family is no longer able to afford a pump.

“Since school staff may not be able to provide the full care and attention he would need with multiple injections, my wife or I would likely have to leave a job or find a new one with more flexibility so we could give more attention and care to him during the day.”

Behm says he is anxiously awaiting the details of what they will need to pay come August. He says he’ll spend the next three months “hoping I win the lottery.”

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