KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL)- Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly announced Wednesday that it has decided to cap the cost of insulin for people not already covered by Medicare at $35 per month.
Barbara Hudson has been a type 1 diabetic for 72 years, and she said it was hard for her and her mom to manage.
“There [were] no books written on diabetes for children, and she had to balance my exercise, my diet and everything,” said Hudson. “But she weighed everything that was put into my mouth for the first eight years of my life.”
Diabetics rely on insulin to remain healthy, but the cost of the necessary medicine has made it more difficult for some to afford.
“I’m on some website on Facebook with people around the world, in the United States especially,” said Hudson. “Just recently, several people have died because they couldn’t afford to get insulin.”
Barry Walton, a pharmacist and owner of the Mac Medicine Mart in Kingsport, said large companies price insulin high to make more revenue.
“The problem with those prices are that it’s not just the price upfront,” said Walton. “A lot of times, the middle man, the pharmacy benefit managers, actually make more money off of insulin sale than the manufacturer.”
Although Eli Lilly’s cap for insulin will help some people that need it, some insurance companies have changed what insulin they cover.
“Some of the insurance companies are cutting Eli Lilly off of their preferred drug list,” said Walton. “Now those people that have been stabilized on Eli Lilly insulin’s like Humalog will have to switch over to a competitor product, which may or may not have been controlled.”
President Biden is now calling on other drug makers to lower the prices of insulin, which he says costs less than $10 to make.
