Health committee  When I got out of college, so everything.

Health committee  Pretty much. Anything you wanted to get, “Oh, no, you have type 1 diabetes. No, sorry, we're not going to touch that.”

Health committee  Essentially.

Health committee  I don't think insurance companies understand a lot of the technology either. I heard of people who made a request for coverage, and they were told that the CGM would be covered. Then, when they put that in, they were denied because they lived in Ontario and the company confused

Health committee  I'm lucky because I live in Ontario. I get funding through the assistive devices program, but it doesn't cover everything. I can't use that same Inset that Karen showed you. That's a little bit cheaper than what I have to use. I do pay more. I do not track it, because just like

Health committee  Yes, I do. I totally agree. At this moment, I am married and my husband, thankfully, has a job with insurance, but I still have to pay a large sum. They pay 80%. When you look at how much medication I'm taking, that 20% is still a heck of a lot of money that most people don't hav

Health committee  For a long time, yes, to the detriment of our own mental health and that's hard too.

Health committee  The money is given to the LHINs and then it gets divided. That still stays in Ottawa and Toronto, the bulk of it. Where Charlene and I are, we need more doctors. We need more specialists. We need more access. I don't know how you transfer that down so that it actually gets disb

Health committee  Amputations are huge, and where I am from we have some of the highest rates.

Health committee  I do. I just had to reapply and I am very thankful that this time I got it my first go-round. The last time I had to fight for it.

Health committee  I think there needs to be a little more incentive to come to the northern communities. Charlene and I are still a distance away. We're still in northern Ontario. Despite getting the early notice from my doctor because I just happened to be there when he made his choice, I went o

Health committee  That is a number that I am terrified to actually look at. This is sad that I have to admit that I am fortunate that my aunt passed away last year. I was maxed out on my credit card to pay for my continuous glucose monitor to keep me safe because I do not feel when my blood sugar

Health committee  You have to understand, too, that, like Charlene referenced, when I was diagnosed at age seven, I was peeing on a stick. This gave us outdated information about what was going on in our bodies. Technology has come a long way, and that really has improved our ability to self-care.

Health committee  I would say no. I do not feel like I've ever—

Health committee  Not even now. In Thunder Bay, we have one endocrinologist and that is it. He has already told me, “You know far more than I will ever know”. That is because I've been involved with Diabetes Canada, so I know the strategies that they've put out to the doctors, even though the do