Illinois House approves bill to cap insulin costs

Nov. 13--Illinois House members voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to approve legislation capping out-of-pocket insulin costs for some diabetics.

The House voted 100-13-1 to approve the bill, despite objections that it only helped a limited number of diabetics and didn't attack the root problem of high drug costs.

The bill must still get another vote in the Senate because of a couple of changes made by the House.

The gist of the bill remains the same as it has since Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, introduced it: The out-of-pocket expenses a diabetic will pay for insulin costs will be capped at $100 for a month's supply. The bill does not go into effect until 2021.

The bill does not cap the costs for all diabetics. Those covered by a federally regulated insurance program will not be able to take advantage of the cap. Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, said that means people covered by employer health insurance are not affected, nor are Medicare or Medicaid plans. State workers, on the other hand, would be covered because their health plan is regulated by the state. It's been estimated only about 20 percent of diabetics in Illinois will be affected by the bill.

"This bill is not a complete solution to the problem of the high cost of insulin. This is a start," Guzzardi said.

The cost of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years and people often pay hundreds of dollars out of pocket each month to obtain the medication they need. Others skimp on doses to save money, often making their illness worse in the process.

Insulin costs are much higher in the U.S. than they are in other industrialized countries. The bill requires the Department of Insurance to conduct a study to determine the causes of the disparity. Guzzardi said that in many instances, other countries have single-payer health insurance systems that "use the leverage of the entire buyer pool to drive prices down."

Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, said the state has never before set the price of product.

"Others might come to Springfield and suggest if we did that for insulin, maybe we could do this for any number of other prescription drugs," Demmer said. "We are talking about the first time in state law we as a legislature are going to decide how much something should cost."

Demmer said the bill could result in insurers deciding not to cover the cost of insulin. Demmer, though, noted that there was no longer any opposition to the bill from drug companies or insurers and that there were no adverse results after Colorado adopted a similar law.

Demmer also said the bill doesn't address the root cause of high drug costs.

"This doesn't relieve pressure, it just shifts it," he said.

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer, R-Jacksonville, said he feared the issue could get out of control.

"I just want to ensure we're not coming back for every single disease, every single drug. This could get pretty hairy," he said.

Davidsmeyer ended up voting for the bill, as did Reps. Tim Butler and Mike Murphy, both Springfield Republicans. Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, voted against the bill. Rep. Sue Scherer, D-Decatur, was absent.

Contact Doug Finke: doug.finke@sj-r.com, 788-1527, twitter.com/dougfinkesjr

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