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The US Congress has approved a funding increase for the Special Diabetes Program for the first time since 2004, giving additional heft to efforts to find type 1 therapies and to address the disproportionate impact of type 2 diabetes on American Indians and Alaskan natives.

The congressional increase, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden, is a short-term extension of the Special Diabetes Program, through the end of 2024. However, it gives type 1 research funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the Special Diabetes Program for Indians a $10 million increase each, taking each component to $160 million for the year.

The Special Diabetes Program was created in 1997 and has been reauthorized by Congress each year, but its funding has been flat since fiscal year 2004.

"NIDDK is extremely grateful for the increase in Special Diabetes Program funding," said NIDDK Director Griffin Rodgers, MD, in a statement provided to Medscape Medical News. "The recent renewal and increase will allow NIDDK to build on landmark research advances made possible by the Program — such as the first preventative therapy for type 1 diabetes and the development of artificial pancreas technologies — and to capitalize on emerging new research opportunities that hold tremendous promise to advance the type 1 diabetes research field and improve people's health," said Rodgers.

According to Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who helped secure the increase, funds from the Program led to the first fully automated insulin-dosing system being made available to patients in 2017 and that Program-funded trials led to another US Food and Drug Administration-approved artificial pancreas system.

"JDRF is thrilled the Special Diabetes Program has been renewed until December 2024 — and with a much-needed increase in funding — ensuring that critical type 1 diabetes research continues," said Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation CEO Aaron Kowalski, PhD, in a statement issued by Collins' office. 

"The Endocrine Society is thrilled that Congress has reauthorized the Special Diabetes Program," said Society Chief Medical Officer Robert W. Lash, MD, in the same statement. 

According to the Indian Health Board, the Special Diabetes Program for Indians serves 780,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives across 302 programs in 35 states. The program focuses on a culturally informed and community-directed approach to treat and prevent type 2 diabetes in Tribal communities.

Alicia Ault is a Saint Petersburg, Florida-based freelance journalist whose work has appeared in publications including JAMA and Smithsonian.com. You can find her on X @aliciaault.