Medicare: Cost-saving changes coming for diabetics

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FILE - In this March 14, 2009 file photo, a woman gets ready to check her blood sugar in Sacramento, Calif. Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar _ but it also may cause some patient confusion. On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies that will drop substantially the prices the government pays for those products _ and will restrict who's allowed to sell them. The goal is to save taxpayer dollars, and seniors in the program should see their copays drop, too, from more than $15 an order to less than $5. For a chronic disease, that can add up fast. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater, File)

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Medicare: Cost-s... FILE - In this March 14, 2009 file photo, a woman gets ready to check her blood sugar in Sacramento, Calif. Medicare begins a major change next month that could save older diabetics money and time when they buy crucial supplies to test their blood sugar _ but it also may cause some patient confusion. On July 1, Medicare opens a national mail-order program for diabetes testing supplies that will drop substantially the prices the government pays for those products _ and will restrict who's allowed to sell them. The goal is to save taxpayer dollars, and seniors in the program should see their copays drop, too, from more than $15 an order to less than $5. For a chronic disease, that can add up fast. (AP Photo/Steve Yeater, File)
Komen breast can... In this undated photo provided by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, new President and CEO Judith A. Salerno, left, is shown with Komen Founder and now Chair of Global Strategy Nancy G. Brinker. The breast cancer charity on Monday, June 17, 2013, announced that it named Salerno as its new leader. Salerno replaces Brinker, the charity's founder, who announced last summer she would step down, following an onslaught of criticism over Komen's decision to stop funding Planned Parenthood. (AP Photo/Susan G. Koman for the Cure)
New lungs buy ti... Chart shows the number of people on the waiting list for an organ transplant
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Obama calls for ... President Barack Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan listen as Janelle Montano shares her story of dealing with mental health issues during opening of the White House mental health conference, Monday, June 3, 2013, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. The conference was organized as part of President Obama's response to last year's shooting massacre at a Connecticut elementary school. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Gene flaws commo... In this May 31, 2013 photo, breast cancer survivor Alicia Cook holds photos of family members who have also been afflicted by breast cancer, outside her home in Chicago. New research shows genetic breast cancer is more common in black women than previously thought. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
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