Why Insulin Is So Expensive in the U.S. —And What the Inflation Reduction Act Does About It

President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law this afternoon, with a package that includes sweeping climate and tax initiatives and the biggest change to health care policy since the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010. The new law works to bring down skyrocketing drug prices, one of the most intractable problems in the U.S. health care system. It will allow Medicare to negotiate some drug prices and place a $2,000 yearly out-of-pocket maximum for beneficiaries’ medicine costs. One drug in particular became the focus of intense debate in Congress: insulin. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The drug millions of Americans with diabetes rely on has become increasingly unaffordable, and advocacy groups and lawmakers have pushed for years to take action to help consumers. The Inflation Reduction Act places a $35 monthly cap on insulin prices for Medicare patients, providing relief for the 3.3 million beneficiaries who use some form of insulin, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. “People are paying a lot of money for medication they need to survive.” says Lisa Murdock, chief advocacy officer for the American Diabetes Association. 25% of insulin users have rationed or skipped doses because of costs, according to a 2019 Yale University study, facing impossible choices. “Do I pay for rent or food for my family?” Murdock says. “Or do I buy this vial of insulin?” The original proposal w...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Explainer Health Care healthscienceclimate uspoliticspolicy Source Type: news