Tonight, President Biden urged in his State of the Union address that Congress take immediate action to finally address the prohibitive cost of insulin for people living with diabetes. The American Diabetes Association® (ADA) joins this call on Congress to take swift action and pass legislation to cap monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for Americans with commercial insurance, group health plans, and Medicare. The ADA has led the campaign resulting in the enactment of state-level out-of-pocket limits for insulin in 20 states and the District of Columbia. We've seen exactly how much Americans living with diabetes, who rely on insulin, stand to benefit from reducing the cost to patients of this live-saving medication.
This co-pay cap cannot wait; Congress must act right now, given the outsized impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the diabetes community. One in four Americans living with diabetes reported rationing their insulin to pay for other life essentials like rent, utilities, daycare, and food. While the pandemic has made this situation worse, insulin rationing is a crisis that has been decades in the making. The price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013, and the trend upward has made affording this life-saving medication even more challenging for millions of Americans living with diabetes.
It’s time to pass a national co-pay cap to bring economic relief to millions of Americans forced to stretch beyond their means every month to pay for their insulin.
The ADA is supporting the Affordable Insulin Now Act introduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. The ADA encourages our nation’s leaders to join us in supporting these two critical bills and urges Congress to approve this $35 national insulin co-pay cap.
# # #
,
About the American Diabetes Association
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 81 years the ADA has driven discovery and research to treat, manage, and prevent diabetes while working relentlessly for a cure. Through advocacy, program development, and education we aim to improve the quality of life for the over 133 million Americans living with diabetes or prediabetes. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Spanish Facebook (Asociación Americana de la Diabetes), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
