Dec. 12, 2019
By Ghita Kdiry
Staff Writer
In May, Colorado became the first state to pass a law capping insulin costs at $100 co-pay per month for people with insurance. Now, Illinois is following in Colorado’s footsteps. On Nov. 14, following approval by the House, Illinois state senators signed off on a similar legislation that sets a $100 out-of-pocket insulin cap.
The nearly century-old drug has tripled in price over the past decade, with some paying as much as $500 per month. Insulin has become so unaffordable that diabetics are pushed to take risks concerning their health.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who publicly supported his state’s bill tweeted on Oct. 11, “Diabetes affects people from all walks of life, but as prices have skyrocketed, more and more insulin users have been forced to find their medication by substituting lower quality products, or seek options out of the country, or even ration their supply–some have died doing so.”
The Yale School of Medicine reports that one in four diabetics are forced to ration insulin due to high costs.
School nurse Mrs. Nowinski said with more Americans developing diabetes, it is necessary to cap costs because many patients have begun taking risks in order to save money.
“Unfortunately, many patients are [skipping doses] and doing so is never a good idea,” Nowinski said.
She said the reason insulin is so expensive is because it is considered a large molecule drug, which is complex to manufacture.
“Manufacturers need to cut cost to pharmacies in order to allow affordable prices to the patients that use insulin on a daily basis,” Nowinski said.
Science teacher Mrs. Sapone said the issue is personal to her family because her daughter has type 1 diabetes. She said her family has insurance with a reasonable deductible, but she is concerned for those who aren’t covered by insurance.
“How much would you pay to keep your children alive?” Sapone said. “You can’t really put a price on a child’s life. It’s kind of absurd.”
Sapone said most patients with diabetes remain vulnerable to drug company pricing.
“The cost of insulin has tripled in the past decade, and as a diabetic gets older, they need more insulin,” Sapone said. “Basically, the older you get, the more expensive it gets.”
“How much would you pay to keep your children alive?”
Junior Abida Iqbal, who hopes to become a doctor, said insulin is a huge financial burden to anybody, and its cost should be reduced.
“The amount of money that is put into purchasing insulin is excessive. I know this [bill] will mean a lot for the families and individuals struggling,” Iqbal said. “[Insulin] should just be affordable.”
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