By Daniel Rabbitt
The American people understand that treating diabetes should not bankrupt a family. Almost all of us have a close friend or family member diagnosed with diabetes and we know first-hand the stress caused by the disease. Most can manage their condition with lifestyle changes, insulin, and other prescription drugs, but it is not easy.
To add financial hardship to the stress of living with
diabetes should be unacceptable. That is why Heartland Alliance and other
leaders from Protect Our Care Illinois, a statewide affordable health care
coalition, took on the issue of insulin costs and we are thrilled to report our
legislation to cap out of pocket costs for insulin passed overwhelmingly during
our fall 2019 session on a bipartisan vote!
We have plenty of work still to come to bring down the costs
of prescription drugs, but for now, we will celebrate this victory.
Insulin costs are
rising to unsustainable levels
Insulin has been around since 1922 and its discovery allowed
type 1 diabetes, which was fatal at the time, to become a treatable chronic
condition. The scientists who discovered it won a Nobel Prize and then donated
the patent to a University because they felt the whole world should benefit
from the discovery regardless of a family’s wealth. Modern pharmaceutical
companies evidently feel differently, however, as insulin costs have tripled in
the last decade now regularly run more than $500 a month.
The dramatic increase in cost has had serious consequences
for the 1.2 million Illinoisans diagnosed with diabetes and their families. One
in four people with diabetes reported that cost has impacted their insulin use,
leading to rationing the drug and improper treatment. This can lead to serious
health problems such as blindness, amputations, and death. And the prices just
keep going up.
Capping the cost of
insulin
To address the skyrocketing cost of insulin, we supported
Illinois SB667, a bill modeled after recent Colorado legislation to cap out of
pocket costs for insulin at an affordable $100 per month. The bill only applies
to insurance plans the state can regulate but will still impact about 20% of
the market. It also directs our Department of Insurance to study why the cost
of insulin has ballooned.
This restriction on large out of pocket costs will have a negligible
impact on insurance premiums but that did not stop opposition from the industry
and its supporters. Insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers both
initially opposed and a spirited debate broke out in committee. In the end
though, all opposition relented and got out of the way of what is right. The
bill passed 48-7 in the Senate, 100-13 in the House, and is on its way to
enactment with the Governor’s support. Illinois is only the second state to
ensure affordable insulin in this way.
What’s next?
The passage of SB667 is a remarkable victory, but we know
have more work to do. This bill only affects insulin and so many other
prescriptions have become unaffordable. It also does not fundamentally reduce
the cost to purchase insulin from a manufacturer. It only more equitably
distributes that inflated cost. Heartland Alliance and Protect Our Care
Illinois will be looking to take on Pharma in the coming year to truly bring
down the cost across the system. For now though, we will celebrate this victory,
knowing more Illinoisans will be able to afford the medicine they need to
survive.
