Last Updated on October 26, 2024
In case you missed it, there was a very important bill passed in North Carolina that could impact the whole diabetic community. In May of 2015, the North Carolina legislator passed “Reegan’s Rule”, a bill that would promote screening for type 1 diabetes in infants and toddlers. After an outcry from North Carolina citizens and political struggles, the bill was able to gain approval from the house in a 111 – 6 vote.
The idea for the bill was born after 16-month-old Reegan Oxendine lost her life from misdiagnosed type 1 diabetes. The doctors originally diagnosed her with a virus and acid reflux. After Reegan’s passing, family, friends, and neighbors started a social media campaign to require testing of type 1 diabetes in all infants and toddlers. The Facebook page gathered over 2,000 likes and created a splash that was noticed by several North Carolina government officials. Darice Oxendine (Reegan’s mother) began to collect over 2,600 signatures on a petition demanding something be done. North Carolina State Representative Charles Graham decided that one lost life was too many and took on the mission of Reegan’s Rule.
Getting the bill approved by the house was no easy task. There were several months where the bill looked like it would fail, but Representative Graham never gave up. He continued to advocate for a change in the way.
Type 1 diabetes is simple to test for. Diabetes can be tested for using a small blood sample from a finger prick, and a ketone strip dipped in the patient’s urine. Why would doctors not test for type 1 diabetes if it is so easy to do?
Unfortunately, the passed bill wasn’t EXACTLY what everyone was hoping for. In order to have the bill passed by the house, the language had to be changed slightly. Instead of REQUIRING physicians to test infants and toddlers, the bill recommends doctors educate parents on the symptoms of type 1 diabetes and suggests that parents have their children tested.
While there is no requirement for doctors to test infants for type 1 diabetes, encouraging education on diabetes will make a significant difference in early detection. The vice president of the Diabetes Research Institution Foundation at the University of Miami, Tom Karlya stated that cases similar to Reegan’s “happens more frequently than you think”, he went on to say, “people don’t always die, but if they survive they may have encountered brain damage or something else”
North Carolina is the first state in the U.S. to pass this type of bill for diabetes. Hopefully this bill will create a spark in other states government. Having similar laws passed in other states could have a significant impact on early detection of type 1 diabetes. The earlier that diabetes is diagnosed the less likely the person is to experience any diabetic related health complications later in life.
Thanks to several key celebrities and star athletes like Nick Jonas and NFL quarterback Jay Cutler, diabetes has been gaining attention in the mass media, but the majority of it has been for type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes has remained in the shadow of type 2 limelight. Type 1 diabetes seems to be the chronic disease that nobody wants to talk about, but Reegan’s Rule will hopefully get the ball rolling.
Reegan’s Rule was set to officially take effect on October 1st of 2015. There has been no statement on the implementation of the rule or how effective it has been yet.
