14 Jul Contact Your U.S. Senators in Support of the INSULIN Act
The Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act would cap out-of-pocket costs of insulin products at $35 per month for people with private health plans, Medicare Part D, and Medicare Advantage.
People with type one diabetes (T1D) need insulin to survive. It’s as simple as that. Maybe that’s the only straightforward element of managing T1D and accessing insulin.
Our country needs to do something now to improve access to this life-saving hormone. The Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act would cap out-of-pocket costs of insulin products at $35 per month for people with private health plans, Medicare Part D, and Medicare Advantage.
Now is the time to contact your U.S. Senators to support the INSULIN Act. Spread the word. Share your story. Make a significant, tangible difference.
U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) are co-chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus. Their new, bipartisan legislation is endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation (JDRF).
Click here for JDRF Advocacy page and action alert allowing you to send a message directly to your senators.
Also, consider a call. You’ll speak with a member of your senator’s staff or leave a message. A few helpful things:
- Give your name (and telephone number with area code if leaving a message).
- Identify yourself as a constituent and state your hometown.
- Encourage the senator to vote for the INSULIN Act.
- Tell your story. Do you have a loved one with T1D? Reiterate that T1D is auto-immune related, can’t be managed with diet and exercise, and requires insulin injections to live.
If you don’t know your senators, you can use the feature in the upper left corner “Find Your Senators” to look them up by state.
You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. Give the operator your zip code, and he or she will connect you with your elected officials’ offices.
Want to take a closer look at the issues and proposed solution? We’ve rounded up resources for a deep dive.
Skyrocketing costs…
While several states have moved to cap insulin costs, there is currently no federal limit on out-of-pocket spending for insulin. The need is tremendous on a national level and a more deeply felt personal one.
According to the American Diabetes Association, people with diabetes account for $1 of every $4 spent on health care in the U.S.1 The U.S. represents only 15% of the global insulin market but generates nearly 50% of the industry’s insulin revenue. 2 The price of insulin in the U.S. has more than doubled since 2012; that’s a 100%+ increase over a single decade.3 According to the Health Care Cost Institute, the price of an average 40-day supply of insulin rose from $344 in 2012 to $666 in 2016.
Insulin is one of the most expensive categories of drugs purchased by private and government health care payers. The rising cost of insulin presents a barrier to care for a growing number of Americans with diabetes. Out-of-pocket costs increase with list prices, and for people without insurance, the costs are untenable.
Preaching to the choir…
What is the human cost? One in four insulin dependent patients underuse or even skip insulin doses due to exorbitant costs. 3 Insulin rationing is commonplace and devastating. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is what happens when you don’t have enough insulin. Your blood sugar gets so high that your blood becomes highly acidic, your cells dehydrate, and your body stops functioning. So many people with T1D are scrambling to afford insulin or to make it last until payday, that they are using less insulin than they need to make it last until they can afford to buy more.
Understanding the bill…
What will the INSULIN Act do?
- Create a program whereby patients would receive lifesaving protections on insulin products with reduced insulin prices by:
- Ensuring that insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers cannot collect rebates on insulins that limit list price to the 2021 net prices for Medicare Part D or equivalent levels;
- Making such insulins eligible for cost-sharing protections, including waiver of any applicable deductible and limiting copays or coinsurance to no more than $35 per month or 25% of list price; and,
- Supporting patient access to such insulins by ensuring coverage and prior authorization, step therapy or other medical management requirements cannot be imposed to limit beneficiary use.
- Limit out-of-pocket costs for patients with diabetes by:
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- Ensuring that group, individual market, Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage health plans must waive any deductible and limit cost-sharing to no more than $35 per month or 25% of list price, for at least one insulin of each type and dosage form.
Call or email your senators today to support the INSULIN Act and improve access to this life-saving hormone.
More resources:
Click HERE for poster charting the difference in list price and net price of one form of insulin between 2012 and 2021. (Courtesy of Senator Collins’ office)
A one-pager on the legislation is available here, and a section-by-section summary is available here. (Courtesy of Senator Shaheen’s office)