[Diabetes-Talk] Fwd: Update on advocacy efforts

Thu Oct 19 17:16:05 UTC 2017

They all belong to a manufacturers' association. They even hold conventions
every year and have been doing this for decades. I'll look through my older
files and see if I still have the organization official name and phone
number.
I am particularly glad to see the MediCare activity.
Veronica

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-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Thursday, October 19, 2017 7:41 AM
To: 'Diabetes Talk for the Blind'
Cc: Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Subject: Re: [Diabetes-Talk] Fwd: Update on advocacy efforts

Good beginning. Again, I'm willing to help in any capacity on this.

Bridgit

-----Original Message-----
From: Diabetes-Talk [mailto:diabetes-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of
Bernadette Jacobs via Diabetes-Talk
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2017 7:54 PM
To: Diabetes Talk for the Blind <diabetes-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Bernadette Jacobs <bernienfb75 at gmail.com>
Subject: [Diabetes-Talk] Fwd: Update on advocacy efforts

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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