Hi Friends of Blue Circle,
For the past two years, our messaging at Blue Circle Health was focused on who we are and what we do. This was required to overcome the understandable skepticism of free anything, let alone healthcare. Today, our number one source of referrals is clinicians, and “word of mouth” is quickly catching up.
With that, it’s time for us to start talking more about our why. That requires addressing some uncomfortable truths.
Our healthcare system fails people living with type 1 diabetes, and not just those with fewer resources. Nearly everything a person needs to live a long and healthy life with this condition is made more difficult, expensive, and sometimes impossible to access. This translates directly to preventable complications and premature death.
People living with T1D deserve access to the care, education, support, and medicine they need to live. Doctors, nurses, and educators deserve to be reimbursed for the services they know their patients need.
The greatest opportunity to save and improve thousands of lives today isn’t the discovery of new knowledge, medicine, or technology – it’s reframing “care” to include access to things people need to live healthy lives.
This is our why.
Blue Circle Health exists because The Helmsley Charitable Trust believes people living with T1D shouldn’t have to fight for what they need to live. We exist to improve the lives of thousands while demonstrating that better outcomes at lower cost is not just possible, but scalable. We exist to provide policy makers, payers, and patients an alternative. If we can do this for T1D, we can share lessons learned to improve the care of other chronic complex conditions.
So far, it’s working. People in the program are experiencing clinically and statistically significant drops in A1c and diabetes-related distress (in peer review). We’ve demonstrated that this model is scalable, helping more than 1,200 people in 20 states plus the District of Columbia.
2026 is the year that we invite others to join us in building a movement for better care. We couldn’t be more grateful for the way it has started with Breakthrough T1D’s recent award of a $1.5 million grant to strengthen our insurance navigation services and meet the needs of more people in underserved communities. We look forward to sharing more partnership news soon as leaders from across the T1D community make clear that they’re not just in the fight to improve care, they’re helping to lead it.
If you’re attending the American Diabetes Association’s 86th Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, please plan to join us for a special event on Thursday, June 4th from 4-6pm CST (details to follow). We’re bringing the community together for networking, an expert panel, and a short documentary starring the people we serve and those that serve them.
As always, if you have thoughts, questions, or ideas, send me a note. We’ll be in Houston this weekend for the ADA’s 2026 Clinical Update Conference. If you’ll be there, please reach out!
Sincerely,
Len D’Avolio, PhD
