$50 Netflix Gift Card Giveaway!
Giveaway has ended - Thank you for entering. Winner will be announced on ep 67 of the Juicebox Podcast.
In exchange for a little bit of information about how often you'd like new episodes of the Juicebox Podcast during the summer months, I'm giving away a $50 Netflix gift card.
Giveaway ends June 20, 2016 at 12 noon EST.
No purchase necessary, gift card has no cash value, US residents only, all giveaway disclosure language can be found here but in the end... my giveaway... my rules. Your information will never be shared with anyone! Please, one entry per person.
The Juicebox Podcast can be heard on iTunes/iOS devices, Google Play/Android or at Juicebox Podcast.com.
You're Invited: DOC asks the FDA Webinar
FDA and DPAC Webinar on Artificial Pancreas – #DOCasksFDA
Webinar on Artificial Pancreas
from diabetespac.org:
On Thursday, June 2, 2016, the FDA will host a webinar to share general information about how the FDA regulates diabetes devices and ongoing efforts to accelerate the availability of artificial pancreas devices. The webinar will focus on current and emerging artificial pancreas technologies, and the FDA’s role in reviewing these technologies for safety and effectiveness. Representatives from the FDA and the Diabetes Patient Advocacy Coalition will be available to answer questions from webinar participants.
Webinar Details
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2016
Time: 2:00 -3:00 PM, Eastern Time
To hear the presentation and ask questions:
Dial:888-603-9738; passcode: 8218260 | International: 212-547-0409; passcode: 8218260
To view the webinar presentation you must download the free WebEx software plug-in:
· Before the webinar, visit the WebEx Downloads webpage
· Under the WebEx Event Manager heading select the download for your operating system.
On the day of the webinar, use the following link to view the presentation:
https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PWXW8131511&p=8218260&t=c
Following the webinar, a transcript and the video recording will be available at http://www.fda.gov/CDRHWebinar.
Please note the FDA does not provide Continuing Education Credits (CEU) or Certificates of Attendance for webinar attendance.
If you have any general questions about the FDA’s regulation of medical devices, please contact CDRH’s Division of Industry and Consumer Education (DICE) at dice@fda.hhs.gov, 1-800-638-2041, or 301-796-7100.
Food and Drug Administration
Center for Devices and Radiological Health
OmniPod Gets A New Look!
We're still the same OmniPod® - focused on making diabetes a smaller part of your life - but now we have a new logo that truly embodies the dedication we have to our Podder Community!
INTRODUCING THE MYOMNIPOD® MOBILE APP!
Are you new to the Pod? The first release of the MyOmniPod® mobile app offers features for new users to quickly get up to speed on the art of Podding through training videos, daily tips and FAQs. Current PoddersTM will also love the reorder functionality and convenient access to Customer Care. Stay tuned—we have a lot more in store for 2016 and beyond! LEARN MORE
Get a free demo Pod to experience how liberating it can truly be.
If you’re considering insulin pump therapy, the best way to understand the comfort and convenience OmniPod® offers is to try it yourself. So get a free Demo Kit, which includes a sample, non-functioning Pod, and see what you think. There’s no obligation to buy.
- Wear a non-functioning Pod to see how it feels
- Find the area that works best for you
- Get a sense for how OmniPod® works
- Request your FREE Demo Kit
SPONSORED POST: OmniPod is a frequent sponsor of the Juicebox Podcast
10 Steps to Take After Your Insurance Denies an Insulin Pump or CGM
If you haven't already listened to D-Mom and volunteer insurance advocate Samantha Arceneaux on the Juicebox Podcast go ahead and click play on that player you see below. -- Sam is a never ending font of information on how best to appeal your insulin pump or continuous glucose monitor insurance denial and she was kind enough to write this guest post for Arden's Day. The mother to Mikayla a T1 5 year old diagnosed at 22 months old, Samantha has spent the last several years as a volunteer diabetes insurance advocate, helping other parents fight insurance companies for insulin pump and CGM coverage.
Sam is brilliant and these are her 10 steps to take when you've been denied by your evil overlords (medical insurance company).
guest post
Steps When Being Denied by Your Insurance:
- Did you receive a denial letter? If not, investigate to find out why. Was the supplier incorrect? Were they in-network?
- Double check your pharmacy benefits to see if you can gain the item that way.
- If it’s a company plan, ask your HR department if they might be able to override the denial.
- Ask your doctor to complete a peer-to-peer review with the insurance company.
- If still denied, ask the doctor for a letter of medical necessity.
- Look at why they are denying, then compare against your medical records and the insurance’s medical/clinical policy or guideline. Find if they incorrectly applied their policy to your situation, or if they are using outdated data.
- Do your research. See if there are new studies that prove your medical request is supported by professional recommendations or research studies. Aim to have 2-5 relevant studies/statements.
- Go for the appeal. Insurances want a medical need established and why it (the item being requested) has the potential to lower their costs. It cannot be emphasized enough, what you put into it is what you can expect to get out of it.
a) Include what the system/supply does medically in a few short sentences, don’t assume they know. It will make the rest of your arguments more effective if they understand the concept behind the device/supply.
b) A modicum of formality can be helpful as well, as the insurance will be unsure of who actually wrote it; was this the patient, an advocate, an attorney, a doctor? It may imply to the insurance reviewer that you are not going away easily.
c) Fight against any outdated research the insurance uses in their medical policy, or if they failed to gather/review your medical data that supports your need for the device/supply.
d) Quotes from the research studies or statements are helpful, since they will not be looking up the studies themselves. Paraphrasing is also encouraged. Just remember to cite the study/professional organization each time.
e) Give real life examples on how this device/product can help you (refrain from convenience examples). For instance, do not talk about how a CGM can be remotely viewed and how this saves the hassle of checking in with your child. Rather, talk about how the device alerts you to rapidly changing glucose values so that you can take steps to prevent a crisis from - So you win the appeal and get approval. I strongly advise getting it in writing before you order the supply/device. This will be your evidence in the event something isn’t properly posted in their system, such as length of approval (should be for 1 year).
- If you do not overturn the denial on appeal, try again. Typically you will have two internal reviews that are done by the insurance companies before going on to the external review. The external review is completed by independent reviewers and tends to be more impartial, which means a higher chance of getting approved. (Medicaid/Medicare products may have more levels of appeal available).
Other useful information:
For non-covered items: You will need to request a formulary exception. This means that you recognize that it isn’t a covered product but still feel that it is medically necessary and should be covered by your insurance. Treat this as an appeal situation.
For non-preferred items: If a drug or supply is non-preferred, you will ask for a tier exception. This is basically where you give the insurance company a medical reason why you cannot utilize the preferred item and ask that they give you the non-preferred item AT the preferred rate. This typically is a pharmacy situation.
Visit Sam's blog to read her other detailed information regarding insurance denials. Sam rocks!
Do Germs Trigger Type 1 Diabetes?
I always have this nagging feeling that I forgot to wash my hands or something when Arden was a baby. I know how ridicules it is to wonder but it's difficult at times not to think, "what if I could have done something differently...". Anyway, I thought this was an interesting article that you may like to see. Excerpts below with links to the entire research article if you're interested in reading more.
from ScienceDaily.com
Germs could play a role in the development of type 1 diabetes by triggering the body's immune system to destroy the cells that produce insulin, new research suggests.
“Killer T-cells sense their environment using cell surface receptors that act like highly sensitive fingertips, scanning for germs.
”However, sometimes these sensors recognise the wrong target, and the killer T-cells attack our own tissue. We, and others, have shown this is what happens during type 1 diabetes when killer T-cells target and destroy beta cells.”
Scientists have previously shown that killer T-cells, a type of white blood cell that normally protects us from germs, play a major part in type 1 diabetes by destroying insulin producing cells, known as beta cells.
Now, using Diamond Light Source, the UK's synchrotron science facility to shine intense super powerful X-rays into samples, a team from Cardiff University's Systems Immunity Research Institute found the same killer T-cells that cause type 1 diabetes are strongly activated by some bacteria.
The team hope this research will lead to new ways to diagnose, prevent or even halt type 1 diabetes.