[Diabetes-Talk] Fwd: Update on advocacy efforts

Thu Oct 19 00:53:37 UTC 2017

Good Evening Friends:

Just wanted to share this with you.  I really want everyone to know
that we really are trying.

Have a wonderful evening.

Bern

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Hedtler-Gaudette, Dylan" <DHedtler-Gaudette at nfb.org>
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2017 19:15:53 +0000
Subject: RE: Update on advocacy efforts
To: "Jacobs, Bernadette" <bernienfb75 at gmail.com>,
"mindyjoy at nyc.rr.com" <mindyjoy at nyc.rr.com>,
"wsloan118 at roadrunner.com" <wsloan118 at roadrunner.com>,
"joystigile at gmail.com" <joystigile at gmail.com>,
"juanfigueroa88 at comcast.net" <juanfigueroa88 at comcast.net>,
"jb007d at att.net" <jb007d at att.net>, "debbiewunder at charter.net"
<debbiewunder at charter.net>, "Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com"
<Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com>, "sjryan2 at gmail.com" <sjryan2 at gmail.com>,
"m.barber817 at gmail.com" <m.barber817 at gmail.com>

Greetings DAN!

I hope everyone is doing well today.

Just a quick update:

- I met with a staffer from the office of Senator Bob Casey today.
That meeting went really, really well. The staffer said flat out that
he and by extension the Senator will gladly partner with us on this
issue. So we have a couple of starting points that we are going to be
moving forward with:

1. We will be drafting a letter that will be sent from Senator Casey
to the administrator of CMS. That letter will highlight the current
crisis faced by blind diabetics and call on CMS to change its coverage
policies. It may even call on CMS to change its policy entirely such
that it will no longer cover and reimburse for any diabetic medical
equipment that isn't fully accessible. We'll see how that process
turns out but it's an excellent first step. I will be reaching out to
get your expertise as I try to put that letter together.
2. We are going to track down the major trade association that
represents medical device manufacturers and start engaging with them
on this issue. The staffer from Senator Casey's office also pledged to
follow up and call that trade group in to talk to him (and maybe the
Senator personally) about this issue. That could also be a very
powerful step for us.

These are just the first two steps but we will be continuing to
explore additional avenues. And I will be keeping you all closely
posted and I will also be picking your brains for relevant information
and stories. I think that we can make some headway here if we do this
right.

Thanks all! Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

Best,
~Dylan
-----Original Message-----
From: Hedtler-Gaudette, Dylan
Sent: Thursday, October 12, 2017 9:07 AM
To: 'Bernadette Jacobs' <bernienfb75 at gmail.com>; Jacobs, Bernadette
<bernienfb75 at gmail.com>; mindyjoy at nyc.rr.com;
wsloan118 at roadrunner.com; joystigile at gmail.com;
juanfigueroa88 at comcast.net; jb007d at att.net; debbiewunder at charter.net;
Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com; sjryan2 at gmail.com; m.barber817 at gmail.com
Subject: RE: Conference Line Information...

Hi all,

I hope everyone is enjoying this fall season.

Just wanted to update you quickly:

1. I have followed up with our contact at CMS to see if she has any
information for us. I originally reached out to her on 9/20 and I
followed up today (10/12). Hopefully she will get back to me with
something of value.
2. I have reached out to and scheduled a meeting with a Senate staffer
from the office of Senator Bob Casey in order to discuss this issue.
Senator Casey is a strong advocate in the areas of aging and
disability; for obvious reasons, this kind of issue falls squarely
within his area of concern. He is also on the relevant committee in
the Senate so if we were to pursue a legislative strategy, he would be
a go-to champion on the Senate side. WE have a great relationship with
his office and with this particular staffer so I anticipate a good
meeting. At the very least, we may get some valuable advice as to how
to move forward with our advocacy on this issue. But it is also
possible that the staffer will find this issue compelling and he may
take it to the Senator with the recommendation that he get involved.
I'll update you after that meeting, which will take place next
Wednesday (10/18).

Thanks again all. Please let me know if you have any questions or if I
can help with anything else.

Best,
~Dylan

-----Original Message-----
From: Bernadette Jacobs [mailto:bernienfb75 at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 4, 2017 9:32 AM
To: Jacobs, Bernadette <bernienfb75 at gmail.com>; mindyjoy at nyc.rr.com;
wsloan118 at roadrunner.com; joystigile at gmail.com;
juanfigueroa88 at comcast.net; jb007d at att.net; debbiewunder at charter.net;
Walterl.mitch2 at gmail.com; sjryan2 at gmail.com; m.barber817 at gmail.com
Cc: Hedtler-Gaudette, Dylan <DHedtler-Gaudette at nfb.org>
Subject: Conference Line Information...

Good Morning Everyone!!

At last, here I now have the conference line details for this evening!!

The conference will be held at 7:00 PM EST, six PM  CST I believe our
CA/West Coast will be on at 4:00 PM.

Our conference information details are as follows:

Conference Line Number:
877-394-5901
Moderator Code: 1610120
Access Code: 4781852.

Thanks a bunch Everyone!!

Look forward to hearing from all of you at seven.

Warmly,

Bern

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