Type 1 diabetes insulin pump Omnipod not subsidised by federal government

More than 120,000 Australians with a chronic disease are being denied a subsidy for a life-saving device.

Exclusive: It is a tiny, lifesaving diabetes device, costing just $13 a day.

But Australia won’t fund it — and one of our most powerful businessmen still cannot believe his son had to go overseas to get it.

Richard Goyder, the Chair of Qantas, Woodside and the AFL, is campaigning for all Type 1 diabetes sufferers to get access to the Omnipod insulin pump, that’s proved a game changer for his son Will.

The United States and United Kingdom have, for decades, subsidised the pump, but it falls through the cracks of our health system because it is not a medicine and is disposable rather than implanted in the body.

Will Goyder who has Type 1 diabetes and who is wearing a device called the Omnipod, in Perth. His father is Chair of Qantas, Woodside and the AFL and former chair of Wesfarmers, Picture: Ross Swanborough

Currently Australia’s National Diabetes Services Scheme only funds equipment for cumbersome, old fashioned insulin pumps that have to be connected to the body through a port via a tubing system.

For a small child, the current pumps are akin to being tethered to a laptop 24/7.

The Omnipod, however, is a tiny tubeless, discreet pump that delivers insulin via Bluetooth and a hand held mobile phone-like device. It is replaced every three days.

The Omnipod DASH Insulin Management System, is a tubeless insulin pump system. Picture: Supplied

Mr Goyder is wealthy enough to fund the device for his son and does not expect special treatment from taxpayers. But he said the broader 120,000 Australians with diabetes should have access to the device.

“My broader frustration to a degree is we shouldn’t actually be trying to navigate our way through a whole myriad of different government agencies. You would hope there’s a recognition that this is a chronic disease, and the access to quality treatments should be available to anybody,” Mr Goyder said.

Will Goyder wears an Omnipod and says it has changed his life. Picture: Ross Swanborough

Will Goyder, 23, who is about to graduate from university, said the device had changed his life and allowed him to manage his insulin levels easily while swimming and playing other sports.

“It just seems ludicrous really that I can have this great quality of life but only because I come from a well-to-do, privileged background. It’s not fair,” he said.

Kelly Craven’s eight-year-old son Liam was using an Omnipod when the family moved to Australia from America. She brought two years’ supply with them that was funded by their US health cover.

That supply is about to run out and Mrs Craven, from Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast, is having to take on an extra job to afford the $400 per month cost of the device.

Liam Craven with his tubed insulin pump. Picture: Supplied

The traditional insulin pump he used as a toddler carried a risk he could have accidentally overdosed himself on insulin or cut off his body’s supply of the drug if he played with the tubes.

“He’s in school, and we just want him to feel as normal as possible,” she said.

People with Type 1 diabetes are at risk of dying in their sleep and can suffer major organ failure, blindness and limb amputations if their blood sugar is poorly controlled.

Insulet, the company that makes Omnipod, is asking the federal government to help fund the $400-per-month cost of the device.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said the product sponsor for Omnipod has recently submitted a request for subsidisation of this product and “the Department of Health is reviewing this as a priority”.

“While the OmniPod DASH system is one option for people with diabetes, a range of other insulin pump consumables are currently subsidised. Further information about NDSS products, and more specifically insulin pump consumables, can be found at: www.ndss.com.au,” the spokesperson said.