PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Samantha L. Bowker
AU  - Chad G. Mitchell
AU  - Sumit R. Majumdar
AU  - Ellen L. Toth
AU  - Jeffrey A. Johnson
TI  - Lack of insurance coverage for testing supplies is associated with poorer glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes
AID  - 10.1503/cmaj.1031830
DP  - 2004 Jul 06
TA  - Canadian Medical Association Journal
PG  - 39--43
VI  - 171
IP  - 1
4099  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/171/1/39.short
4100  - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/171/1/39.full
SO  - CMAJ2004 Jul 06; 171
AB  - Background: Public insurance for testing supplies for self-monitoring of blood glucose is highly variable across Canada. We sought to determine if insured patients were more likely than uninsured patients to use self-monitoring and whether they had better glycemic control. Methods: We used baseline survey and laboratory data from patients enrolled in a randomized controlled trial examining the effect of paying for testing supplies on glycemic control. We recruited patients through community pharmacies in Alberta and Saskatchewan from Nov. 2001 to June 2003. To avoid concerns regarding differences in provincial coverage of self-monitoring and medications, we report the analysis of Alberta patients only. Results: Among our sample of 405 patients, 41% had private or public insurance coverage for self-monitoring testing supplies. Patients with insurance had significantly lower hemoglobin A1c concentrations than those without insurance coverage (7.1% v. 7.4%, p = 0.03). Patients with insurance were younger, had a higher income, were less likely to have a high school education and were less likely to be married or living with a partner. In multivariate analyses that controlled for these and other potential confounders, lack of insurance coverage for self-monitoring testing supplies was still significantly associated with higher hemoglobin A1c concentrations (adjusted difference 0.5%, p = 0.006). Interpretation: Patients without insurance for self-monitoring test strips had poorer glycemic control.