The American Diabetes Association urges Congress to make diabetes a priority.
Tackling system reform, health insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid issues on Capitol Hill, federal advocacy helps the American Diabetes Association (ADA) achieve federal legislative goals that allow people with diabetes coverage and access to the treatments and services they need to manage diabetes.
Congressional Diabetes Caucus
The mission of the Congressional Diabetes Caucus is to educate Members of Congress and their staff about diabetes and to support legislative activities that would improve diabetes research education and treatment.
Co-Pay Cap for Insulin
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden signed a historic provision that caps what seniors on Medicare pay for insulin to $35 per month. As you know, this accomplishment has been years in the making, driven by the ADA’s leadership on the issue of insulin affordability and lower out-of-pocket costs. In the weeks leading up to this vote, more than 71,000 advocates reached out to their representatives and senators through the ADA’s Advocacy Engagement Platform. We greatly appreciate you raising your voices in support of passing the first national insulin co-pay cap.
As happy as we are about this historic news, we are extremely disappointed the Senate did not cap monthly co-pays on insulin in commercial plans. The cost of insulin has become out of reach for too many people with diabetes and our work is not over until we make insulin affordable for all people who rely on it to live.
FY 2025 Federal Funding Increases for Diabetes Research and Programs
- Fund the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at $2.5 billion. The NIDDK is the primary federal agency that conducts research to find a cure and advance treatments for diabetes. This investment in NIDDK is needed to advance the nation’s efforts to develop new and superior treatments, enhance disease detection and management, improve the prevention of diabetes and its complications, and ultimately discover a cure.
- Fund the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) at $168.8 million. The DDT’s mission is to eliminate the preventable burden of diabetes through research and education, and by translating science into clinical practice. This investment in the DDT will allow the CDC to build upon its innovative diabetes translational research, strengthen surveillance efforts, and expand national, state, and community programs.
- Reauthorize the Special Diabetes Program (SDP)/Special Diabetes Program for Indians (SDPI) for five years at $200 million a year to bolster the program for Americans living with diabetes. SDP provides critical funding for research toward a cure for type 1 diabetes and funding for type 2 diabetes prevention and management activities in Native American communities.
- Fund the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) at $40 million a year, which can dramatically reduce the number of new diabetes cases in individuals with prediabetes.
Our goal is to educate lawmakers about issues important to people living with diabetes and/or obesity and remain in contact with them at crucial times during the year. Members of Congress want to hear from you—their constituents—to understand your priorities. Your story supports the cause of the diabetes community on Capitol Hill.
For more information contact: Raiseyourvoice@diabetes.org
