Eli Lilly, the drug company that is one of the leading insulin manufacturers, has announced that it will cut the price of some insulin products and limit out-of-pocket costs for people who use its insulin to $35 per month, according to a news release from the company.
It has been about a year since President Joe Biden proposed capping monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 under all nearly health insurance plans. Since then, Congress has made this $35 cap a reality for Medicare beneficiaries, and Biden has urged Congress to extend this cap to other health insurance plans. Even without further action from Congress, this proposal has focused attention on insulin pricing — and this kind of attention has prompted insulin manufacturers to take action to lower costs in the past. Eli Lilly announced new lower-cost insulin options in 2020, and it reduced the price of one of those lower-cost products in 2022. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also introduced insulin savings programs.
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Price cuts for various insulin products
The latest announcement, though, represents some of the most dramatic action on insulin pricing that any company has taken. Starting on May 1, 2023, Lilly will cut the list price of its unbranded (generic) insulin lispro — a short-acting insulin taken at mealtimes — to $25 per vial. This will make insulin lispro the lowest-priced mealtime insulin available, and a vial of this insulin will cost less than it did in 1999, the company noted. Lilly will also cut the list price of its branded version of insulin lispro, Humalog, by 70% starting in the third quarter of 2023.
Lilly also announced that it will launch Rezvoglar (insulin glargine-aglr), a long-acting basal insulin that is considered interchangeable with Lantus (insulin glargine), on April 1, 2023, at a list price of $92 for a five-pack of KwikPens — which is 78% lower than the current list price of Lantus.
In addition to these list price reductions, Lilly announced that it will automatically cap out-of-pocket insulin costs for people with commercial (private) health insurance at $35 at participating pharmacies. If you don’t have insurance, you can benefit from this same cost cap by signing up for the Lilly Insulin Value Program at insulinaffordability.com.
“The aggressive price cuts we’re announcing today should make a real difference for Americans with diabetes,” said David A. Ricks, chair and CEO of Lilly, in the news release. “We are driving for change in repricing older insulins, but we know that seven out of 10 Americans don’t use Lilly insulin. We are calling on policymakers, employers, and others to join us in making insulin more affordable.”
The company’s announcement noted that due to recent efforts such as the Lilly Insulin Value Program, the average monthly out-of-pocket cost of Lilly insulin has fallen over the past five years to $21.80. A new awareness campaign will be launched in the coming weeks to “help ensure all Lilly insulin users understand how to access the company’s industry-leading affordability solutions.”
Want to learn more about saving money on insulin? Read “Insulin Prices: Four Ways to Pay Less” and “Cheaper Insulin: Older Insulins May Be Answer to High Prices.”
