Beta Cell

Beta Cell The award-winning podcast about people living with type 1 diabetes. The EIN for Beta Cell Action is 92-2603887.
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Beta Cell Action lobbies for federal legislation that eliminates barriers to accessing insulin and other diabetes medications and devices. We endorse federal lawmakers and candidates who share our belief that diabetes care should not be for profit. Beta Cell Action is a 501(c)(4) organization, which focuses on advocacy and legislative work. Because Beta Cell Action fights for affordable insulin by organizing around critical elections and key legislative battles—donations are not tax-deductible.

is no longer replacing sensors that fall off!While very publicly rolling out their direct-to-Apple Watch update, Dexco...
09/06/2024

is no longer replacing sensors that fall off!

While very publicly rolling out their direct-to-Apple Watch update, Dexcom has secretly rolled out an update to their sensor replacement policy. Previously, if you had a sensor fall off early (like if it gets caught on a door or shirt, you sweat it off, etc.), Dexcom would send you a replacement. Now, “Dexcom will provide a maximum of three (3) goodwill replacement sensors in a twelve (12) month period.”

Since insurance typically only covers three sensors a month (that last for 10 days each), this can leave people with diabetes who rely on continuous glucose monitoring to avoid dangerous low blood sugars or to operate their closed-loop pumps (like Control IQ on Tandem) without a CGM, forcing people with diabetes to pay $190/mo out-of-pocket for additional sensors.

As Steering Committee Members of the Time In Range Coalition, Dexcom actively works with diabetes nonprofits to get more people onto their system (so they make more money).

Dexcom Warriors, their unpaid influencer program, even requires “Warriors” to lobby for expanded Dexcom coverage for Medicare and Medicaid.

Cgms are only useful if we can afford them!

CGM usage has been shown in studies to reduce A1c, so CGMs should not only be accessible to diabetics who can pay for it. JDRF states that 673,000 T1Ds will die by 2040 without access to CGMs and pumps.

What can you do?
1. Contact your representatives and tell them that we need price caps on life saving medical technology (find contact info at betacellaction.org).
2. Use additional tape to keep your sensors on.
3. Do not become a Dexcom Warrior.

Due to the overwhelmingly negative opinion people with have of JDRF propping up Big Pharma & high insulin prices while...
04/06/2024

Due to the overwhelmingly negative opinion people with have of JDRF propping up Big Pharma & high insulin prices while letting people with T1D die, they’ve changed to a bu****le logo to be more in line with how people with T1D see them.

For real, a report for Eli Lilly shareholders actually pointed out that Lilly gives JDRF between $1-2.5m a year as a “partner” because (in exchange for?) JDRF steering clear “of criticizing pharmaceutical companies and high drug prices.”

JDRF has estimated that 110,000 T1Ds will die without access to (too expensive) insulin and test strips. They know it’s killing diabetes and accept bribes to do nothing anything about it. It’s literally in their deal to let drug prices stay high, folks.

Don’t let their bu****le rebrand blind you.

Reminder that the pharmaceutical corporations that pay JDRF for their “partnership” in not criticizing them are the same...
19/04/2024

Reminder that the pharmaceutical corporations that pay JDRF for their “partnership” in not criticizing them are the same ones literally taking affordable insulin off the market.

Maybe the production of insulin shouldn’t be in the hands of three for profit companies (who use their profits to silence criticism of high drug prices).

Should essential drugs be nonprofit?

is saying the quiet part out loud here. In their message to shareholders before their May 2024 meeting, Lilly highlight...
18/04/2024

is saying the quiet part out loud here.

In their message to shareholders before their May 2024 meeting, Lilly highlighted their paid ”partnership” with since 1997 and how “JDRF steers, clear of criticizing, pharmaceutical companies and high drug prices.”

Whether an explicit agreement to not address drug prices or a wink and a nod when the check is signed, this complicity for JDRF has no doubt killed countless diabetics who were unable to afford their insulin—all because the largest nonprofit would rather cash another check from Big Pharma than fight to lower the price of insulin in the U.S.

Lilly’s shareholder message quotes JDRF’s principle that drug pricing policy should not come at the cost of new drugs. But what is the point of having newer (more expensive) drugs if the ones we have now still aren’t affordable?

Four months after Lilly lowered the price of Humalog, there is now a shortage, forcing to switch to their more expensive Lyumjev fast acting insulin (~$300/vial list price).

Why does JDRF care more about new drugs than keeping diabetics alive?

A new clinical report on low-carbohydrate “keto” for children and adolescents (2-18 years old) with or at risk for diabe...
24/09/2023

A new clinical report on low-carbohydrate “keto” for children and adolescents (2-18 years old) with or at risk for diabetes concluded that:

“Despite the increasing popularity of low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets for managing diabetes in adults, there are safety concerns to consider for youth with diabetes who are restricting carbohydrate intake to control weight and/or blood glucose. These include growth deceleration, nutritional deficiencies, poor bone health, nutritional ketosis that cannot be distinguished from ketosis resulting from insulin deficiency, and disordered eating behaviors.

“Low-carbohydrate (

Remember those $35 insulin programs that pharma touted as a way to end the insulin pricing crisis without actually chang...
01/09/2023

Remember those $35 insulin programs that pharma touted as a way to end the insulin pricing crisis without actually changing their prices?

Democratic Senators Maggie Hassan and Tina Smith found that they he applications for these insulin programs, require patience to go fill out 5-10 pages of documentation and then wait an undisclosed amount of time for approval.

The two senators sent a letter to drug makers, asking for more information on their eligibility criteria, whether insurance status affects their approval, and a list of all the steps they have to take to sign up.

Don’t believe pharma (and pharma funded nonprofits) when they tell you that programs they create are the solution to THEIR high prices.

Would you rather pay more money for more expensive insulin or less money for cheaper insulin (like every other wealthy c...
09/08/2023

Would you rather pay more money for more expensive insulin or less money for cheaper insulin (like every other wealthy county)? 🤔

The high cost of GLP-1 drugs (which is set by pharmaceutical corporations) has led employers to drop coverage of it th...
04/08/2023

The high cost of GLP-1 drugs (which is set by pharmaceutical corporations) has led employers to drop coverage of it through their healthcare plans—the way most Americans get health insurance—forcing people to pay the $1,350 a month out of pocket.

As long as health insurance coverage and drug prices are driven by greed instead of what’s best for Americans, people will continue to have to choose between their medications and their food or rent. The only ethical solution is price caps and universal healthcare.

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Interested in how much money every country spends on #diabetes #healthcare AND how many #diabetics are in each country? Beta Cell Action has got you covered. Check out our searchable and sortable chart via link in bio.

Did you know that Beta Cell Action has a list of all the political donations that insulin makers gave in 2022? Browse it yourself and see if your reps are in the pocket of Big Pharma. Help us hold our representatives accountable so we can have affordable insulin in the U.S. like in every other country. #t1d #diabetes #insulin

There so much information about managing diabetes that it's hard to know who to trust. So we try and figure it out. Find the episode wherever you listen to podcasts or at betacellpodcast.com (link in bio). #diabetes #diabetic #diabetesawareness #t1d #type1 #type1diabetes #diabadass #type1diabetic #bloodsugar #insulin #insulinpump #dexcom #insulin4all

On the next episode of Beta Cell, the untold story of pilots with type 1 diabetes. Subscribe to Beta Cell wherever you get podcasts to get it as soon as it drops. Don't want to wait? Patreon supporters have early access to the episode right now! #diabetes #diabetic #diabetesawareness #t1d #type1 #type1diabetes #diabadass #type1diabetic #bloodsugar #insulin #insulinpump #dexcom #insulin4all

24 days after submitting written testimony with language opposing the passage of Maine bill LD 673, An Act to Create the Insulin Safety Net Program (modeled off of the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act passed in Minnesota last year), Beyond Type 1 sent a second letter saying, “We’re writing today to clarify and state unambiguously that Beyond Type 1 does support the passage of this legislation." I called up Sarah Lukianov, who testified in support of LD 673, to get her thoughts on this second letter. Listen to Beta Cell #34: Update on “Broken Vials” wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website (link in bio). #diabetes #diabetic #diabetesawareness #t1d #type1 #type1diabetes #diabadass #type1diabetic #bloodsugar #insulin #insulinpump #dexcom #insulin4all

Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest day of the year for football, chicken wings, day drinking, and Dexcom? We break down the pros and cons (but mostly cons) of Dexcom’s first ever Super Bowl ad featuring diabetic heartthrob Nick Jonas. Find it wherever great podcasts are found (and via link in bio). #t1d #type1diabetes #insulin4all

Lunch Break with Brec Bassinger
Lunch Break with Brec Bassinger

Lunch Break with Keary Cheney
Lunch Break with Keary Cheney

Lunch Break with Sarah Fletcher and Apoorva Gomber
Lunch Break with Sarah Fletcher and Apoorva Gomber

Lunch Break with Dave Holmes & Michael Sebastian
Lunch Break with Dave Holmes & Michael Sebastian

Lunch Break with Kate Hall
Lunch Break with Kate Hall

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About Beta Cell

At 13 years old, Craig Stubing started experiencing the symptoms of extremely high blood sugar. Without any experience with type 1 diabetes, his family mistook his symptoms as just puberty. Eventually, a visit to the doctor sent him to the emergency room and changed his life forever. Hear more of Craig’s story here.

Craig launched Beta Cell in 2015 as a response to an online community he felt was more about complaining than understanding each other. Through one-on-one interviews with people of all backgrounds, Craig tries to discover how type 1 diabetes impacts our lives and how our lives impact our type 1 diabetes.

To help explore the many aspects of living with type 1 diabetes, Craig created and hosts three more shows: Out of Range, a talk show about "real things diabetes;" The 3s, where people with T1D interview their friends and family; and Thicker Than Water, which documents Craig's Aunt Laura getting diagnosed with, and adjusting to, life with type 1 diabetes at 60 years old.

In 2019, Beta Cell was named the “Diabetes Podcast of the Year.”