Exciting news for people in British Columbia! Dexcom CGM is now covered in BC! If you’re using intensive insulin therapy (read: multiple daily injections or an insulin pump.) there are new options for you. If you’re living with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and meet certain criteria (see below), Dexcom G6 will now be covered under the BC Pharmacare, decreasing the financial burden of living with diabetes for people in BC. (To brush up on Dexcom G6 and find out if it may be a good tool for you, click here.)
Here’s what you need to know:
- To be eligible, you must be registered with Plan B, F or W, or with the BC Fair Pharmacare program. Your annual net family income will determine the level of coverage you receive/your deductible required to access the program.
- Your primary care physician or your endocrinologist must confirm you meet certain requirements. This includes that blood glucose testing using CGM is medically necessary for you.
- Initial coverage is for 1 year. Following that year, your primary care physician or endocrinologist should fill out and submit a BC PharmaCare Special Authority request on your behalf to have you approved for an additional 5 years.
- You must meet your deductible requirements through the BC Fair Pharmacare program before being able to access the program.
- You must be consistently seeing a diabetes education team.
The announcement was made on Friday June 11. You can read the full news release, here.
Currently, other provinces that include some form of Dexcom coverage through their provincial programs are Saskatchewan, Quebec, and the Yukon, although age restrictions exist through some of these programs.
With today’s announcement that Dexcom CGM will be covered in BC, there is rumour that Prince Edward Island and Manitoba may soon follow suit. We look forward to these updates, as well as updates from the rest of the Canadian provinces and territories on ways they are increasing accessibility and affordability for people with Type 1 diabetes.
