Deirdre Murphy is not waiting quietly for better diabetes care to arrive in San Antonio. The longtime local advocate packed her insulin pump and headed to Washington, D.C. this week for the American Diabetes Association’s Call to Congress, pressing lawmakers for larger federal investment in diabetes research, prevention and access to technology. Murphy and other advocates argued that stronger federal funding could speed device and drug advances and help local programs that teach residents how to manage the disease.
Murphy’s story and her message
Murphy, 54, was one of roughly 130 advocates at the ADA event and the only representative from San Antonio, as reported by the San Antonio Report. The outlet notes she was misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2001, then re-diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) after a 2006 hospitalization for diabetic ketoacidosis. She has used an insulin pump since 2007 and a continuous glucose monitor since 2012.
What advocates asked for in D.C.
Advocates urged Congress to boost federal diabetes funding by roughly 5% - about $3 billion across research, prevention and access programs - according to reporting from Spectrum News. The American Diabetes Association points out that diabetes is one of the nation’s most expensive chronic diseases, costing about $413 billion a year, and its federal one-pagers ask lawmakers to bolster the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases at NIH, CDC diabetes programs and the National Diabetes Prevention Program to help rein in that price tag. The American Diabetes Association lays out those funding priorities in its official advocacy materials.
Local stakes: cuts to Metro Health programs
The national ask lands at a tense moment back home. Metro Health officials have warned of steep local impacts if federal Medicaid waiver reserves lapse: a city presentation showed the department’s Diabetes Prevention and Control Program would face about a 72% reduction in funding, dropping from roughly $1.6 million to about $465,038 if the waiver is not replaced, a scenario that would shrink staff and slash workshop capacity. That figure and the projected staffing and workshop losses are detailed in a City of San Antonio budget briefing and presentation. City of San Antonio budget materials show the program would be pared back to only a few funded specialists and far fewer community workshops.
Murphy held up her insulin pump in D.C. and told attendees, “This is my pancreas - without it, I would die,” a line quoted in the San Antonio Report. She called the ADA’s requested bump “a drop in the bucket” compared with the hundreds of billions the country spends treating diabetes, and said she will keep pressing local lawmakers and congressional offices until funding and access improve.
