Prominent businessmen who lobbied hard for budget funding for type 1 diabetes technology were deeply disappointed by their lack of success last week, but are not deterred.They have reset their sights on eliciting pre-election promises from both sides of politics., which is mobilising a million family members and friends of people with T1D, asking them to lend their voices to this as a political issue.
“Sometimes you can’t get what you want, but you can never give up arguing the logic of this”, says Mr Browne, who has two adult children with T1D who each spend up to $10,000 a year on their diabetes technology requirements.“T1D is a killer with the potential to kill thousands of people each year, and technology is available to avoid this drastic risk. But funding generally stops when people reach adulthood, and the cost thereafter becomes prohibitive for most.
“It’s a fairness issue. We are a wealthy country, and we look after the hearing and sight-impaired and those with cancer and other major diseases. T1D is a chronic, autoimmune disease and a silent killer. We need to do something about it.”T1D is not to be confused with diabetes type 2,Mr Goyder, although deflated by the budget, says Health Minister Greg Hunt has been a strong advocate for help with T1D and tried his best, but there were many competing legitimate claims.