ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
A lot of legislative work has been going on in recent weeks, and Kansas is showing representation with a pair of important matters.
Monday, Sen. Jerry Moran joined 54 of his colleagues in calling on Senate leadership to emphasize the importance of funding the Special Diabetes Program (SDP) that is set to expire Dece. 31, according to a release from Moran’s office.
“Diabetes is one of our country’s most costly diseases in both human and economic terms, affecting people of all ages and races, and in every region of our country,” the senators’ letter from Moran’s office noted. “It is a leading cause of kidney disease, blindness in working-age adults, lower-limb amputations, heart disease, and stroke. Approximately one in four health care dollars and one in three Medicare dollars are spent treating people with diabetes. Diabetes costs our nation $412.9 billion in 2022. Medical expenditures for individuals diagnosed with diabetes are roughly 2.6 times higher than expenditures for those without the disease.”
“For 27 years, the Special Diabetes Program has delivered meaningful resources and research breakthroughs for the 38.4 million Americans with diabetes and 97.6 million with prediabetes,” the senators continued. “It is essential that we continue to invest in the research necessary to develop a cure for diabetes, as well as support the programs that help prevent and treat the disease and its complications.”
The Special Diabetes Program consists of two components: the Special Statutory Funding Program for Type 1 Diabetes Research which supports efforts to prevent, treat, and cure Type 1 diabetes and its complications; and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians to expand treatment and prevention strategies for American Indian and Alaska Native populations who are disproportionately burdened with Type 2 diabetes.
“More than 37 million Americans live with diabetes, including an estimated one in every three older Americans,” the release from Moran’s office noted. “The disease is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, claiming over 101,000 lives in 2022.”
“In particular, in recent years, federal funding from the SDP has contributed to landmark research that culminated in the first early, preventive treatment that can delay clinical diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in those at high risk of developing the disease,” the senators’ letter noted. “SDP-funded research is also advancing knowledge of how insulin-producing beta cells are lost with Type 1 diabetes and how they can be protected or replaced in people, which is helping scientists accelerate new cell replacement therapies. The SDP has also allowed researchers to continue to make progress in other areas, such as:
• Environmental Factors Influencing T1D: Researchers are conducting a groundbreaking 15- year study to determine what environmental factors influence the onset of T1D. They believe that by identifying specific triggering factors, new strategies can be developed to prevent the initial onset of the disease.
• Artificial Pancreas (AP) Systems: SDP-funded research laid early groundwork for developing AP systems, which have shown the ability to reduce costly and burdensome complications and improve the quality of life for those with the disease. SDP funds led to the first fully automated insulin-dosing system being made available to patients in 2017, some five to seven years earlier than expected. Positive results from clinical trials since then have led to another FDA-approved AP system and next-generation AP devices that have outperformed first-generation devices in adolescents and young adults. According to one study, the use of AP systems in adults could save Medicare roughly $1 billion over 25 years.
• Therapies to Delay T1D Onset: The SDP enabled the creation of TrialNet, the largest clinical network for T1D, which conducted the clinical trials that supported the 2022 FDA approval of the first disease-modifying therapy for T1D, which can delay onset by nearly three years. Other therapies to delay and ultimately prevent onset are in the research pipeline.”
Monday, Moran joined colleagues in requesting answers from Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Denis McDonough on the delayed implementation of the Military Sexual Trauma (MST) Claims Coordination Act which required the VA’s Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) to increase coordination with VA’s Veteran Health Administration (VHA) on MST claims, according to a release from Moran’s office.
“The legislation required VA to provide veterans, who are seeking assistance regarding MST, with outreach letters, information on the Veterans Crisis Line and details on how to make appointments with a mental health provider.,” the release from Moran’s office noted. “Since its passage in 2022, VA has yet to implement the coordination program between VBA and VHA and recently announced it would further be delayed until January 2025.”
“We are disappointed by both VA’s delay in implementation of this law, and the lack of transparency with Congress about support for veterans filing disability compensation claims for military sexual trauma,” Sen. Moran and and Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.) noted in a letter. “In the nearly two years since the MST Claims Coordination Act was signed into law, VHA should have formulated concrete policies and processes across the country to better serve veterans with a history of military sexual trauma and who are enrolled in VA’s healthcare system ... It should not take an act of Congress to compel VHA to do more for veterans who have suffered from MST. In the nearly two years since the MST Claims Coordination Act was signed into law, VHA should have formulated concrete policies and processes across the country to better serve veterans with a history of MST and who are enrolled in VA’s healthcare system. Therefore, we request that you provide the following information no later than Dec. 13:
• A detailed plan for how VHA will improve its services using VBA’s shared data on veterans who have filed claims based on MST, and provide these veterans with information required by law, including on VHA’s MST coordinators, the Veterans Crisis Line, and resources for scheduling with mental health care providers.
• A detailed explanation for how VA plans to measure the success of the MST claims coordination program implemented under the law and who will be tasked with overseeing this seamless coordination between VHA and VBA.
• A detailed summary of any additional plans VHA and VBA are undertaking to increase outreach and collaboration among the two administrations to improve care and services for veterans with MST.”
