The Ministry of Health has announced that this blood glucose self-monitoring device will be covered at 100%. 300,000 patients could benefit from it.
The new contactless blood glucose self-monitoring system, FreeStyle Libre, will be 100% covered by health insurance, announced Marisol Touraine, the Minister of Health, this Friday, April 28, 2017.
This important advance for patients with diabetes was obtained thanks to the negotiation of the Economic Committee for Health Products (CEPS) with the Abbott laboratory. Both have agreed on a price – not communicated by the Ministry of Health – allowing full coverage by social security.
This new generation blood glucose meter makes life easier for patients who have to inject themselves several times a day with their fingertips. In practice, a sensor-patch is positioned on the arm every 14 days. Patients can wash, bathe or play sports with it. To measure the glucose level, simply pass the scanner over the sensor.
The studies carried out on this medical device have shown that it makes it possible to optimize blood sugar control, and thus reduces the risk of complications linked to diabetes.
Prescribed by specialist diabetologists and pediatricians
Available for more than two years in France for adults, the device received CE marking in February 2016, allowing patients aged 4 to 17 to use it. But its price – 120 euros per month for the sensor and the reader – remained a barrier for the 300,000 patients treated with insulin who could benefit from it.
In an opinion issued in September 2016, the Haute Autorité de Santé expressed its support for the reimbursement of Freestyle Libre. The agency warned that only patients who have received specific training in the use of the device will be able to obtain it. In addition, only diabetologists or pediatricians specialized in diabetology can prescribe it. A prescription restriction confirmed by Marisol Touraine.
All these provisions should come into force within the next few weeks, the time for a decree to be published in the Official Journal and for pharmacies to be supplied.
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