PandaOlivia
protest picture
23 APRIL 2012 - 21H14
Hungary to punish diabetics if they don't stick to diet
AFP - Hungarian diabetics who fail to stick to their diet will be deprived of more modern treatments from July, under a government decree published Monday aimed at cutting health spending.
Diabetics undergo a blood test on average every three months and those who score high levels of glycemia more than twice a year could be turned away from treatments with analog insulin -- more efficient but also more expensive -- and left with the less efficient human insulin, under the new rules.
Currently, all diabetes treatments are subsidised by the state, which hopes to reduce health spending with the new rules.
The decree does not however apply to children under 18 and those in a life-threatening condition.
.
In Hungary, Punishing Diabetes Patients with Poor HbA1cs to Save Money
by ELIZABETH SNOUFFER on 04/24/2012
Disturbing news from Hungary yesterday as the Hungarian government has decreed the punishment of diabetes patients who do not meet the European medical standard for HbA1c or satisfactory blood glucose control by denying modern treatment. Currently, an HbA1c less than 6.5% is the recommended European standard. It’s unclear what types of goals will determine the penalization. Read France/24s original article here.
Starting in July 2012, Hungarian patients who fail to live up to their doctor’s recommended HbA1c test twice in one year might be limited to using human insulin and less of it, instead of the more modern analog insulin such as Lantus, Levemir, Novolog or Humalog. The Hungarian government subsidizes healthcare under a national system.
The new decree does not apply to children under 18 or those with a “life-threatening condition.” Diabetes medicines for the Eastern European country ‘s 500,000 patients currently cost the National Healthcare system over 100 million euros per year.
The decree also stated:
“Taxpayers’ money should not be spent on patients who don’t cooperate with their doctor.”
This Orwellian mandate reminds me of the year 2006 when Mayor Bloomberg tried to enforce a similar kind of decree when he suggested all New York City doctors should report substandard HbA1c records for patient cases (with citizen’s names) directly to the NYC Health Department. His approach was rejected as it was and still would be a violation of patient confidentiality and even a violation of the US Constitution.
It wouldn’t be surprising, given the current economic environment and status of US healthcare reform, if US insurance providers decided diabetes patients with chronic poor HbA1c results were not deserving of special diabetes medicines or tools, including more efficacious insulin. I guess the BIG question is how this can possibly be thought of as a motivational tool for patients to change behaviors? Fed up with non-compliant patients, is Hungary wanting to help push their citizens with uncontrolled diabetes off the proverbial diabetes plank more quickly? Ironically, in this case, Hungary may want to rethink their new decree when thousands of diabetes patients – without proper care – cost the system much more when diabetes becomes expensively life-threatening, instead of just chronic.
The diabetes political roulette game is a wicked wheel.
protest picture
23 APRIL 2012 - 21H14
Hungary to punish diabetics if they don't stick to diet
AFP - Hungarian diabetics who fail to stick to their diet will be deprived of more modern treatments from July, under a government decree published Monday aimed at cutting health spending.
Diabetics undergo a blood test on average every three months and those who score high levels of glycemia more than twice a year could be turned away from treatments with analog insulin -- more efficient but also more expensive -- and left with the less efficient human insulin, under the new rules.
Currently, all diabetes treatments are subsidised by the state, which hopes to reduce health spending with the new rules.
The decree does not however apply to children under 18 and those in a life-threatening condition.
.
In Hungary, Punishing Diabetes Patients with Poor HbA1cs to Save Money
by ELIZABETH SNOUFFER on 04/24/2012
Disturbing news from Hungary yesterday as the Hungarian government has decreed the punishment of diabetes patients who do not meet the European medical standard for HbA1c or satisfactory blood glucose control by denying modern treatment. Currently, an HbA1c less than 6.5% is the recommended European standard. It’s unclear what types of goals will determine the penalization. Read France/24s original article here.
Starting in July 2012, Hungarian patients who fail to live up to their doctor’s recommended HbA1c test twice in one year might be limited to using human insulin and less of it, instead of the more modern analog insulin such as Lantus, Levemir, Novolog or Humalog. The Hungarian government subsidizes healthcare under a national system.
The new decree does not apply to children under 18 or those with a “life-threatening condition.” Diabetes medicines for the Eastern European country ‘s 500,000 patients currently cost the National Healthcare system over 100 million euros per year.
The decree also stated:
“Taxpayers’ money should not be spent on patients who don’t cooperate with their doctor.”
This Orwellian mandate reminds me of the year 2006 when Mayor Bloomberg tried to enforce a similar kind of decree when he suggested all New York City doctors should report substandard HbA1c records for patient cases (with citizen’s names) directly to the NYC Health Department. His approach was rejected as it was and still would be a violation of patient confidentiality and even a violation of the US Constitution.
It wouldn’t be surprising, given the current economic environment and status of US healthcare reform, if US insurance providers decided diabetes patients with chronic poor HbA1c results were not deserving of special diabetes medicines or tools, including more efficacious insulin. I guess the BIG question is how this can possibly be thought of as a motivational tool for patients to change behaviors? Fed up with non-compliant patients, is Hungary wanting to help push their citizens with uncontrolled diabetes off the proverbial diabetes plank more quickly? Ironically, in this case, Hungary may want to rethink their new decree when thousands of diabetes patients – without proper care – cost the system much more when diabetes becomes expensively life-threatening, instead of just chronic.
The diabetes political roulette game is a wicked wheel.