Insulin price hikes are killing Kentuckians. The General Assembly needs to stop them.
Angie Summers of Louisville saw the cost of her insulin go from $35 to over $400 a month. She bargained with herself. She could pay for her insulin or pay to keep the lights on. After years of not being able to afford insulin, she lost her right leg below the knee and suffers from other complications. Angie has been using an outdated insulin sold at Walmart for $25 because the newer, better versions are priced out of her reach.
One in four Americans with diabetes admit to rationing insulin due to cost. For some, the cost of insulin was the cost of their lives. For others, sacrifices of life savings, money budgeted for rent, mortgage, utility bills, college education, and dream jobs are all too common.
Kentucky #insulin4all advocates are asking the legislature to pass three bills in the 2020 session to ensure that every Kentuckian who needs insulin has it without searching for coupons or applying for assistance programs that rarely grant requests for help.
1. Kentucky needs an insulin price transparency bill that seeks answers across the entire insulin supply chain, exposing calculated moves by each party involved in the rising price of insulin, with a focus on the three insulin makers. It’s time for everyone to stop pointing fingers and be held accountable.
2. Rep. Danny Bentley’s House Bill 12 would cap insulin copays at $100 per month. Kentucky needs to push this further and be the first state to cap the cost at $25.
3. Sen. Phillip Wheeler’s Senate Bill 23 would give uninsured Kentuckians access to free insulin by reimbursing pharmacists who dispense insulin to these patients with money from a fund created by collecting fees from insulin manufacturers. This bill brings the cost of insulin back into the spirit of insulin’s discoverer, Dr. Frederick Banting, who said, “Insulin does not belong to me; it belongs to the world,” and gave the patent away.
Anything short of these actions mean Kentuckians will continue to suffer and possibly die.
We are tired of inaction, tired of excuses, tired of suffering, tired of begging, and tired of Kentuckians dying from rationing insulin. We are tired of pharma-funded talking points such as “high costs are required for future R&D,” “patients did this to themselves,” “PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) are to blame,” and “but what about coupons or assistance programs?” In actuality, insulin makers can choose to lower the list price, and ultimately the price we pay at the pharmacy, at any time. Help us make insulin affordable in the Commonwealth by sharing your story with your elected officials and joining the Kentucky #insulin4all chapter.
Sarah Ferguson of Louisville is the Chapter Leader of Kentucky #insulin4all with Angela Lautner of Elsmere supporting the chapter as Legislative Lead.