
Medicare, Dexcom G5, & Smartphone Access: Whos to Blame and What Can We Do?
But the cause for celebration was quickly muted due to the following statement set down by CMS under Miscellaneous :
Coverage of the CGM system supply allowance is limited to those therapeutic CGM systems where the beneficiary ONLY uses a receiver classified as DME to display glucose data. If a beneficiary uses a non- DME device (smart phone, tablet, etc.) as the display device, either separately or in combination with a receiver classified as DME , the supply allowance is non-covered by Medicare.
Why? Because CMS believes that if someone on Medicare doesnt use the receiver that is required by FDA to be shipped as part of the system, then they shouldnt have to pay for the system at all. The receiver is considered Durable Medical Equipment (DME) and so the only way they can be sure it is used is to prevent any other method of viewing the data. This includes smartphone, watches, and tablets.
By denying access to the CGM data generated by the transmitter to any device except the receiver, the ability to remotely monitor or alternately alarm the person with diabetes is prohibited. This becomes a significant safety issue, as:
Caregivers cannot use the Dexcom Follow App , which allows up to 5 people to remotely view CGM data. The Dexcom Follow App can alarm the caregiver when blood glucose levels are out of the accepted safe range so that the caregiver can immediately contact the person with diabetes (or emergency personnel) to prevent severe hyper- or hypoglycemia.
People with diabetes cannot use the Dexcom G5 Mobile App , which shows real-time data on a smartphone or tab
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