The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation that would cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month, lowering drug costs for more than seven million diabetes patients.
According to the Health Care Costs Institute, insulin prices have nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, with the average price for a 30-day supply of insulin increasing from $343 to $655. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diagnosed diabetes total $327 billion yearly, and the American Diabetes Association has asserted that diabetics account for $1 of every $4 spent on health care in the U.S.
Under the bill, Medicare beneficiaries would pay no more than $35 for each 30-day insulin prescription. Cost-sharing for beneficiaries in private plans would be limited to the lesser of $35, or 25 percent of the health plan’s negotiated price for a 30-day prescription. While it would save consumers thousands of dollars at the pharmacy, the bill does not lower the overall price of insulin and does not solve the problem of skyrocketing drug prices. Instead, it would shift more of the cost onto insurers and employers.
Affordability of insulin and many other prescriptions will continue to be a focus for lawmakers address as the mid-term elections draw closer.