Contact your member of Congress NOW and ask that they support access to Disease Self Management Training and Education (DSMT) by co-sponsoring HR 2425! We are asking that you send a letter and call your members office.
 
For those that have previously sent letters, THANK YOU! Now, we ask that you send this info on to your friends, family and peers and make a call to your Representative and ask that they co-sponsor HR 2425 and give the millions living with diabetes access to quality DSMT!
 
Do it now, before Congress takes their break from Washington, DC, which begins the second week of August.
 The concern is DSME programs will continue to disappear and CDE jobs, as well.
For more info please contact AADEs Advocacy Specialist, James Specker at advocacy@aadenet.org

HR 2425 will allow all CDEs to become providers and therefore the ability to bill for DSME/T services (meeting all the standard criteria, of course – ie. having physician referral etc…).
 
Presently RDs are able to bill and be reimbursed for MNT (Medical Nutrition Therapy) for diagnosis of; diabetes, renal disease – not end-stage – and gestational diabetes.
However, even RDs are not able to bill (unless it is part of a recognized program and then it’s the program billing for services – not the RD) for DSME/T presently.  The passage of HR2425 is critical to all disciplines who are CDEs.
 As past members of the Committee or someone who has been there and done that, I need your help, we are doing a big push this week in order to get co-sponsors and are reaching out to as many chapters personally as possible to be sure that notices are being sent, letters are being written, emails are being sent and phone calls are being made.  HR2425 did not make it in the House Healthcare Reform Bill because of concerns about expense.  Therefore we need to be in the markup.  This will only happen if a number of Congressmen are signed on as co-sponsors. I am hoping I can recruit you to help get your chapters fired up. We are finding that phone calls to the offices are making a difference.  Last Friday the diabetes caucus sent out a letter stating three bills that were significant. HR 2425 was on the list, I have attached the letter. There are over 250 members in the Diabetic Caucus so this is an argument we need to use, as a member you need to sign on. To see if your Congressman is in the Caucus here is the link. 
Materials are available on the AADE website under Advocacy. 

Sign AADE e-petition www.diabeteseducator.org/supportCDElegislation

The Members Download page has been updated!  You can now browse meeting minutes and download the volunteer form.  Keep checking back as other forms/minutes will be added.

Happy July 4th!  Please note the new volunteer request for VIM on the Volunteer page.  The calendar has been updated!  You do not have to sign in to RSVP for the JADE meetings.