Sens. Shaheen and Collins Move to Cap Insulin Costs
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, moved Wednesday to cap the monthly price of insulin at $35 for those privately insured and those on Medicare, as outlined in this discussion draft.
Shaheen and Collins serve as co-chairs of the Diabetes Caucus. They previously led the Insulin Price Reduction Act to hold pharmaceutical companies, pharmacy benefit managers and insurers throughout the insulin supply chain accountable for surging insulin costs by incentivizing reductions in list prices.
More than 37 million Americans live with diabetes, which can lead to vision problems, nerve damage, kidney failure and death.
It is also the most expensive chronic condition in the country, costing a total of $327 billion per year, with one out of every three Medicare dollars going towards treating people with diabetes, according to a release from Shaheen and Collins.
Medical costs for Americans with diabetes are also more than double those incurred by individuals without diabetes.
Between 2012 and 2016, the average list price of insulin nearly doubled. According to data from the Health Care Cost Institute, the price of an average 40-day supply of insulin rose from $344 in 2012 to $666 in 2016.
Another insulin price cap bill was passed by the House in March, and the proposal from Shaheen and Collins is expected to be voted on in the Senate.
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