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A bill being voted on next week would lower prices on the essential drug.
Even though insulin access can literally be a case of life or death, awareness about diabetes drug access is often limited among those who don't personally experience the disease or have a friend or family member who does. But the last five months have seen lawmakers taking notice, with Senator Bernie Sanders calling for a federal investigation into collusion in insulin pricing in November followed by a January class-action lawsuit against three insulin manufacturers who allegedly took part in an "organized scheme to drive up prices."
Most recently, in March, Senator Yvanna Cancela introduced bill SB265 to the Nevada legislature, which seeks to control and create transparency around the pricing of insulin and biguanides, essential drugs that treat diabetes. The bill, expected to be voted on in the coming week, has drawn criticism from drug companies and the patient advocacy organizations that receive funding from them.
The bill seeks to implement price controls on "essential" diabetes drugs, insulin and biguanides, triggering a refund and requiring manufacturers to give 90 days notice if the list price rises above the medical consumer price index. These drugs are considered essential because of the crucial roles they plan in the lives of those with diabetes. The human body requires insulin to live, but the bodies of type 1 diabetics cannot produce it, making access to affordable insulin a matter of survival for all type 1 diabetics, and in in some extreme cases, type 2 diabetics. Manufacturers would also be required to disclose the costs associated with creating these drugs, including everything from research to marketing. Medicaid and the state's public employee benefit program would be exempt from the bill since they can access rebates that private insurers and self-funded plans cannot.
"Diabetes is currently on track to be one of the greatest public health crises of our time," Cancela says. "Twelve percent of Nevadans have diabetes, 38 percent are pre-diabetic, and our diabetic population is poised to double by the year 2030. Those are just individuals who are currently diagnosed. When you look at the undiagnosed numbers coupled with the pre-diabetic numbers and the current diabetic numbers, it's over a million people in Nevada who are affected by this disease. And those numbers mirror what's happening across the country with diabetes. At the same time, insulin costs have gone up so much that people are being forced to make decisions about taking their insulin or paying their rent. What's being treated as a business opportunity should be treated as a public health crisis."
More here: https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/nevada-could-deal-a-serious-blow-to-insulin-manufacturers
Even though insulin access can literally be a case of life or death, awareness about diabetes drug access is often limited among those who don't personally experience the disease or have a friend or family member who does. But the last five months have seen lawmakers taking notice, with Senator Bernie Sanders calling for a federal investigation into collusion in insulin pricing in November followed by a January class-action lawsuit against three insulin manufacturers who allegedly took part in an "organized scheme to drive up prices."
Most recently, in March, Senator Yvanna Cancela introduced bill SB265 to the Nevada legislature, which seeks to control and create transparency around the pricing of insulin and biguanides, essential drugs that treat diabetes. The bill, expected to be voted on in the coming week, has drawn criticism from drug companies and the patient advocacy organizations that receive funding from them.
The bill seeks to implement price controls on "essential" diabetes drugs, insulin and biguanides, triggering a refund and requiring manufacturers to give 90 days notice if the list price rises above the medical consumer price index. These drugs are considered essential because of the crucial roles they plan in the lives of those with diabetes. The human body requires insulin to live, but the bodies of type 1 diabetics cannot produce it, making access to affordable insulin a matter of survival for all type 1 diabetics, and in in some extreme cases, type 2 diabetics. Manufacturers would also be required to disclose the costs associated with creating these drugs, including everything from research to marketing. Medicaid and the state's public employee benefit program would be exempt from the bill since they can access rebates that private insurers and self-funded plans cannot.
"Diabetes is currently on track to be one of the greatest public health crises of our time," Cancela says. "Twelve percent of Nevadans have diabetes, 38 percent are pre-diabetic, and our diabetic population is poised to double by the year 2030. Those are just individuals who are currently diagnosed. When you look at the undiagnosed numbers coupled with the pre-diabetic numbers and the current diabetic numbers, it's over a million people in Nevada who are affected by this disease. And those numbers mirror what's happening across the country with diabetes. At the same time, insulin costs have gone up so much that people are being forced to make decisions about taking their insulin or paying their rent. What's being treated as a business opportunity should be treated as a public health crisis."
More here: https://tonic.vice.com/en_us/article/nevada-could-deal-a-serious-blow-to-insulin-manufacturers
