P.E.I. insulin pump spending still well below budget

Health PEI continues to leave tens of thousands of dollars per year unspent in its budget to provide insulin pumps for Islanders living with Type 1 diabetes, even as the size of that budget continues to shrink.

Meanwhile, the health agency is rebuffing calls to expand its coverage so more Islanders are able to access the funding.

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According to budget documents tabled during the spring sitting of the P.E.I. Legislature, Health PEI spent $30,000 to pay for insulin pumps last year out of a total budget of $51,600.

A further $61,500 was spent on pump supplies and test strips.

The program launched in 2014 with an initial budget of $455,800 per year for pumps and supplies. Two years later the budget was cut in half, but even then spending still came in far below budget.

The budget has since been cut in half again.

The pumps deliver insulin to diabetics throughout the day so they don't have to rely on injections. Proponents say the devices reduce diabetes-related complications, butwith a price tag in the thousandsand with monthly operating costs in the hundreds of dollars,they say they're far too expensive for many diabetics to afford.

Currently, P.E.I.'s insulin pump program only pays for the devices for children aged 18 and under.

Jake Reid of Diabetes Canada has been calling for that age restriction to be lifted.

P.E.I. getting 'further behind:'Diabetes Canada

P.E.I. was the last province to implement a publicly-funded insulin pump program, Reid noted.

"We're getting further behind, even though we implemented a program, and it's a good program other provinces have leapfrogged the sort of coverage P.E.I. has," he said.

"P.E.I. needs to catch up."

The other Atlantic provinces now cover pumps for residents up to age 25, Reid said, while provinces like B.C. and Ontario have no age restrictions.

Some low-income Islanders are still unable to afford one of the devices even if they qualify for coverage, he added,because only90 per cent of the cost is covered.

Covering 10 per cent of the cost of a $7,000 pump is too much for individuals and families with incomes under $20,000a year, he said.

Uptake 'lower than anticipated,' says health agency

A spokesperson for Health PEI said a review of the program has been completed.

"With uptake lower than anticipated, Health PEI reviewed the program including funding criteria and what more can be done to support low-income Islanders and improve the program," the agency said in an email to CBC News.

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"There are a number of factors that contributed to low program uptake, with the main reasons being that many families have dual private health insurance, or some form of insurance coverage."

But Reid said it's the restrictions on the insulin pump program which are keeping the costs down.

"If there was $400,000 a few years ago for that budget, we should have found ways to use it. We should have found ways to make the program less restrictive so more people can access it," Reid said.

Health PEI did point to what it said are other enhancements made to improve diabetes service in the province, including increased test-strip coverage for insulin-dependant mothers during pregnancy, and a position for a diabetes nurse practitioner.

The provincial government has just wrapped up a series of focus group sessions as part of the development of a new provincial diabetes strategy, set to be released later this year.

Reid says he hopes the province will reconsider insulin pump funding and eligibility as it prepares its new strategy.

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