The Wire

On July 1st the government stopped subsiding glucose test strips for people with type two diabetes who are not insulin dependent.

This will impact two thirds of the 900,000 Australians diagnosed with this condition, raising the price for a box of 100 strips from $1.20 to $60 for some patients.

The decision was made after the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee said there’s not enough evidence the strips improve the quality of life for people with type 2 diabetes.

The government has implemented a six months transition period, but some health experts are concerned over the impact this will have to the treatment of those that use the test strips.