In his first State of the Union address on March 1, President Joe Biden called on Congress to limit the cost of insulin nationwide to $35 per month for all health insurance plans — a call that was immediately praised and echoed by leading diabetes advocacy groups, including JDRF and the American Diabetes Association.
In recent years, some U.S. states have taken action to reduce out-of-pocket insulin costs, and since last year Medicare — the federal health insurance program for people ages 65 and older, and some other people with qualifying health conditions — has offered Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans that include a $35 monthly cap on insulin. Now, Biden is aiming to make this $35 cap the law nationwide for all health insurance plans, pubic and private.
In his speech, Biden praised a 13-year-old youth advocate with type 1 diabetes, Joshua Davis, who has advocated for lower insulin costs and was sitting in the gallery. Davis’s father also has type 1 diabetes. Biden threw his support behind a bill already introduced in Congress, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, that would require all private health insurance plans, as well as Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage plans, to charge no more than $35 per month in out-of-pocket costs for any type of insulin. The bill would also require private insurance plans to exclude insulin from any deductible for prescription drugs.
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JDRF and ADA issue official statements on insulin costs
JDRF, the type 1 diabetes advocacy and research organization, said in an official statement that the group “is glad President Biden used the State of the Union to address the insulin affordability crisis, which has had devastating consequences in the diabetes community for far too long.” The group also praised Davis for being an advocate on this issue since 2017. “We encourage the community to call upon their Senators and Representatives to pass the Affordable Insulin Now Act,” the statement continued. “And we call for healthcare leaders across the country to take action as well. No one should have to choose between food and rent and this life-saving drug.”
The American Diabetes Association, in an official statement, noted that the group “has led the campaign resulting in the enactment of state-level out-of-pocket limits for insulin in 20 states and the District of Columbia,” but said that people with diabetes in the rest of the country cannot wait any longer. “We’ve seen exactly how much Americans living with diabetes, who rely on insulin, stand to benefit from reducing the cost to patients of this live-saving medication,” the statement noted. “It’s time to pass a national co-pay cap to bring economic relief to millions of Americans forced to stretch beyond their means every month to pay for their insulin.”
In a statement last month introducing the Affordable Insulin Now Act, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York announced that he would call for a Senate vote on the bill in March. Schumer noted that one in four people who use insulin in the United States report rationing the drug because of its high cost. “Millions of Americans […] stand with me on this push to cap the cost of insulin at $35 so we can stop rationing this drug, and finally make insulin more affordable and accessible for all Americans,” said Schumer.
Want to learn more about saving money on insulin? Read “Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk Introduce Savings Programs in Wake of Pandemic,” “Sanofi Offering Insulin at $99 Per Month,” “Insulin Prices: Four Ways to Pay Less” and “Cheaper Insulin: Older Insulins May Be Answer to High Prices.”