Insulin price cap helps South Dakotans

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - On Wednesday, drug-maker Eli Lilly announced that it will be capping the out-of-pocket price of insulin at $35 per month.

The decision to cap the price of insulin puts Eli Lilly in compliance of a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, but does so for all, not just seniors with Medicare, as the legislation states. Many are hoping this will convince other companies to do the same.

Deputy Assistant for Health and Veteran Affairs, Christen Linke Young, explains how the decision to cap the price of insulin will have a large impact on Americans.

“There are millions of Americans across the country who rely on insulin, who do not have Medicare and who rely on commercial health insurance in order to get access to their prescriptions,” said Linke Young. “Today’s announcement is a big step forward. It represents the major insulin manufacturer in the country, repeating the president’s call to lower their prices and ensure that insulin is affordable for everyone who needs it.”

John Grabow lives with type two diabetes. Grabow is living proof that COVID-19 is dangerous for those with diabetes. In December 2021, he was hospitalized a week after getting COVID and has made a full recovery since. He needs two types of insulin and even with insurance, the prices he sees are very high.

“Sometimes, like when [the price] jumps a lot or something I have to reevaluate what I can buy and what I can’t buy,” said Grabow. “So basically, it’s a lot of extra budgeting than normal.”

Grabow is hopeful that the industry is trending in the right direction.

“That would be really nice to bring insulin down because insulin itself is not expensive, but the reason it’s so expensive is the companies that make it, they own the rights to the pens they use and that’s why it shoots up so much,” explained Grabow.

The conversation between the government, the public and insulin manufacturers is ongoing.

“We very much look forward to working with Congress to extend these protections to all Americans and to work with other manufacturers to follow suit as they work to lower their prices and make insulin more affordable for other people,” said Linke Young.

With the increase of competition between insulin brands and widespread attention drawn to the subject of insulin prices, we could start seeing the industry response to the Eli Lilly price cap very soon.