Diabetes Association: Ministry of Health’s estimates of funding for diabetes care are disproportionate – Health, beauty

Yesterday, April 24, at the meeting of the Social and Labor Affairs Commission of the Saeima, the Latvian citizens’ initiative on wider support for type 1 diabetes patients, including the compensation of continuous glucose level monitoring (CGLU) systems from the state budget, was considered. The calculations of the Ministry of Health (MoH) carried out on behalf of the Saeima commission show that 2,616.54 euros per year are needed for the purchase of continuous glucose level monitoring systems per patient. However, the Latvian Diabetes Association disagrees with the ministry’s calculations, stating that the device can be compensated with 1,401.96 euros per year, and calls for choosing a more economically advantageous solution, so that the necessary technology can be compensated 100% for a larger number of patients.

In 2022, the number of registered type 1 diabetes patients in Latvia exceeded 5,000¹. In order to provide one patient with the NGLU system, which provides the opportunity to follow the glucose level around the clock and reduce the risk of both urgently preventable and chronic and disabling complications, 1,401.96 euros are needed per year, or 116.83 euros per month. Studies show that the use of such a system not only helps to reduce the time of hypoglycemia, or extremely low, life-threatening blood glucose level by more than half (51%) and to reduce the frequency of treatment in the hospital by 49%, but also allows significant savings. A lower number of missed working days, a lower number of hospitalizations, a lower need for test strips, etc. can help save up to 130,500 euros per year (per 500 patients).

One of the possible solutions that came up in the talks is the possibility to compensate the device in the amount of only 50%. The Latvian Diabetes Association rejects such an option, explaining that the co-payment of 50% of patients, taking as an example the prices of the devices selected by the Ministry of Health, will exceed 100 euros per month. In 2023, the average monthly salary after taxes in Latvia was 1,119 euros². This is one of the indicators to be taken into account when deciding the amount of compensation to be awarded. Type 1 diabetes patients are most often diagnosed with several chronic illnesses at the same time, and expenses for specialist consultations and medications continue to increase, therefore, in the opinion of the Association, the monthly costs of the NGLU system are disproportionately high compared to the income of the population. The Latvian Association of Endocrinologists also joins the position of the patient organization.

“The offer of the Ministry of Health, made at the commission meeting, is based on calculations that foresee 2,616.54 euros per year for the purchase of NGLU systems (an average of 218 euros per month), or almost half more than the calculations of the Latvian Diabetes Association. We invite the ministry to choose a more optimal solution and consider the purchase of more economically advantageous NGLU systems, which would be available to a larger number of patients and would be 100% compensated,” states Gunta Freimane, chairman of the board of the Latvian Diabetes Association.

Patient organizations will meet with representatives of the Ministry of Health again next week to continue the discussion on reimbursement models for the purchase of technology needed for diabetes care. The association states that it still believes in the possibility of a compromise on this issue and undertakes to continue active work in defense of patients’ interests.

1 CDG010. Diabetic patients by diabetes types and regions. PxWeb (spkc.gov.lv)

2 In 2023, the average salary before tax is 1,537 euros per month Official statistics portal

Latvian Diabetes Association