Eli Lilly caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month
Last edited Wed Mar 1, 2023, 03:22 PM - Edit history (1)
Source: NBC News
Eli Lilly will cap the out-of-pocket cost of its insulin at $35 a month, the drugmaker said Wednesday. The move, experts say, could prompt other insulin makers in the U.S. to follow suit. The change, which Eli Lilly said takes effect immediately, puts the drugmaker in line with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which in January imposed a $35 monthly cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for seniors enrolled in Medicare.
President Joe Biden praised the move in a tweet, calling on other drugmakers to also lower insulin prices. Biden made insulin costs a focus of his State of the Union speech last month. The American Diabetes Association also applauded the decision, and encouraged other insulin manufacturers to lower costs.
Insulin makers have faced pressure from members of Congress and advocacy groups to lower the cost of the lifesaving medication. Insulin costs in the U.S. are notoriously high compared to the costs in other countries; the Rand Corporation, a public policy think tank, estimated that in 2018, the average list price for one vial of insulin in the U.S. was $98.70.
"Patients should have a consistent and lower cost experience at the pharmacy counter," David Ricks, Eli Lilly’s CEO, said on a press call Wednesday. The cap automatically applies to people with private insurance. People without insurance will be eligible as long as they sign up for Eli Lilly’s copay assistance program.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eli-lilly-caps-cost-insulin-35-month-rcna72713
The U.S. has been "subsidizing" these companies on behalf of the rest of the world, through these exorbitant costs that have gone on long enough to have covered the R&D costs of the drugs... yet they remain and even go up in some instances until smacked down by shaming them.
Article updated.
Original article -
The change, which Eli Lilly said takes effect immediately, puts the drugmaker in line with a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act, which last month imposed a $35 monthly cap on the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for seniors enrolled in Medicare.
Insulin makers continue to face pressure from members of Congress and advocacy groups to lower the cost of the lifesaving medication. Insulin costs in the U.S. are notoriously high compared to the costs in other countries; the RAND Corporation, a public policy think tank, estimated that in 2018, the average list price for one vial of insulin in the U.S. was $98.70.
The cap automatically applies to people with private insurance. People without insurance will be eligible as long as they sign up for Eli Lilly’s copay assistance program. That program began providing insulin to patients — regardless of their insurance statuses — for no more than $35 a month in 2020 because of the Covid pandemic. The cap applies to all of Eli Lilly’s insulin products, said Kelly Smith, a spokesperson for the company. In addition to the cost caps, the company will lower the list price for several of its products, including Humalog, this year.
= new reply since forum marked as read
THX.... BERNIE!!!!!!!!!
“Humira is now priced at $2,984 per syringe, or $77,586 annually — a 470% increase from when the drug entered market,”
“If Medicare had received the same discounts as the Department of Defense, it would have saved more than $7.4 billion on Humira from 2010 to 2018. Similarly, if Medicare had received the same discounts as the Department of Veterans Affairs, it would have saved $7 billion on Humira from 2010 to 2018,” the report notes.
Republicans in Congress have focused their attention less on lowering drug prices and more on lowering out-of-pocket costs, the report reveals how out-of-pocket costs for Humira have spiked too.
A 2019 Kaiser Family Foundation study found that the median annual out-of-pocket cost for Medicare patients on Humira was $5,471 in 2019, which is $606 more than in 2016.
A retired teacher and Medicare beneficiary with Crohn’s disease told the committee that despite having a supplemental health insurance plan, her out-of-pocket costs for Humira were more than $2,600 for a month’s supply, preventing her from receiving treatment.
Rockford, Illinois Mayor Tom McNamara also reported that between August 2013 and July 2020, his city spent more than $2.5 million on Humira alone, which means more than 5% of the city’s employee health plan expenditures were for Humira.
There's a ton of Type 1 diabetics out there. Life changing.
but they were unable to get Congressional sign off for everyone else. So this at least helps do "the rest of the people" (as they should have a long time ago). 
On to the rest! All that's needed is more people who want it to vote as if they do.
Have to keep pounding on it!
