American Diabetes Association Unveils New Engagement Platform

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) recently created a new part of its website, the Engagement Platform, designed to track legislation of interest to consumers.

Each new piece of legislation receives an ADA score, noting how high of a priority the substance is to those in the diabetes community. Insulin pricing, barriers to care, and industry competition are 3 of the subject areas the scores take into account.

“The ADA decided to launch the Engagement Platform to help our community learn about the bills that impact our community and then provide an easy way to share thoughts on those bills. As our community uses the Platform, it is our hope that Congress will hear the collective voice of those impacted by diabetes and take steps to solve the crises of drug and insulin affordability,” said Christel Marchand Aprigliano, vice president of Strategic Alliance Advocacy at the ADA in an e-mail to The American Journal of Managed Care®.

Specifically, the 3 questions used to determine an ADA score are:

• Does the policy lower the cost of insulin and other drugs for people living with diabetes?
• Does the policy eliminate barriers people with diabetes face to getting insulin and other drugs?
• Does the policy promote competition and innovation in the parts of the healthcare system that must be sustained?

By assigning scores to bills, the ADA hopes to streamline advocacy to prop up the most impactful legislation.

Consumers will now be able to take a direct approach when navigating the federal diabetes policy landscape by using the interactive website.

“We score each bill based on three simple questions that assess the benefits for people living with diabetes. Then you reach out to your representatives and let them know how they can help,” the page says.

Directly listed underneath bills the ADA has deemed meeting significant criteria are 2 options visitors can select: ‘Take Action’ or ‘Send a Tweet.’

The ‘Take Action’ option allows visitors to draft a message to their representative, determined by punching in one’s street address and zip code. The ‘Send A Tweet’ function works in a similar way, determining one’s representative based on location, then allowing Tweets to be sent regarding the individual piece of legislation.

Also listed on the site are bills for consumers to ‘Keep a Close Watch’ on. “These bills are important to the diabetes community. While we are not currently asking you to take action, we want to share information about these bills and how they may impact us in the future,” the page says.

Links to full bills are included on the website. The priority of the new platform is to include the voices of those with the disease in conversations happening in Washington, according to the site.

“Elected officials in Washington are debating ways to make healthcare and prescription drugs more affordable. We want the diabetes community to have a voice in the conversations. The Platform is a megaphone to make sure that our voice is heard," the site reads.