Insulin price caps don't help everyone
Jan. 7—For Kristy Theas, it's impossible to overstate the value of insulin.
Her daughter, diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, needs it to regulate her blood sugar and survive. As a parent, it is difficult to put a price on this kind of life-sustaining medication.
"I will pay whatever it takes to keep her alive," she said, "and I know a lot of parents are the same way."
Insurers and drug companies, however, do put a price on insulin, and that price has escalated. For Medicare Part D enrollees, annual out-of-pocket spending on insulin increased 76% per user between 2007 and 2020, according to the
Help arrived on
"Hopefully the next step will be to help us," she said, "to help the parents of the young ones."
The insulin provisions of the legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, will have an impact. In 2020,
"That will be a huge impact," said
There are some options available for diabetics who haven't reached age 65.
"I think it's a prominent issue," she said, "whether they need insulin or some medication to try to get it down so they don't have to take insulin. The medical costs do add up. We run into issues helping them find doctors and find covered doctors."
The Inflation Reduction Act doesn't change the reality that diabetes is an expensive condition that doesn't go away. State statistics showed 17,000
In addition to medication, equipment like insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, known as CGMs, can run in the thousands of dollars.
"My daughter's CGM quit on
In the future, Theas hopes the government steps in to help those who haven't yet turned 65. The original version of the Inflation Reduction Act would have capped insulin at
"I would like to see lower costs," Theas said. "My daughter didn't do anything to become a Type 1 diabetic. It's not like she ate sugar or anything like that. It's an autoimmune disorder and she has to have this to survive."
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