The High Cost of Staying Alive
Mar. 6th, 2019 04:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
diabetesdiaryOn Monday, Eli Lily, the company that manufactures Humalog announced they're releasing an insulin allegedly comparable to Humalog for half the price. One vile of Humalog costs $300 out-of-pocket. Insulin Lispro, the new insulin, will cost $137.35.
I’ve been thinking a lot about this decision since it was announced on Monday. I think this is a step in the right direction, and I’m glad to see that someone is finally addressing this outrageous issue. However, I have some concerns and questions.
No patient with Type 1 Diabetes is going to say they’d rather pay more for their insulin. Why not just lower the price of Humalog? Why make a whole new kind of insulin? Maybe that has something to do with insurance companies? Perhaps more accurately, it has to do with the three billion dollars Humalog makes in annual sales.
Will this new insulin be as effective as Humalog? If it’s as effective and doing the same thing, again, why not just lower the cost of Humalog? Because in our broken, for-profit system, Humalog is one of the most profitable brands of Insulin. And there’s a whole other issue of which insurance companies will cover this new insulin. The NBC news article I read said specifically this might be helpful for people who don’t have insurance or who are struggling with deductibles. But in the past the kind of insulin I’m able to use is pretty much dictated by what my insurance will cover. So if I have insurance that doesn't cover Humalog, and I'm having trouble with my deductible, will this insulin be an affordable option?
Humalog doesn't necessarily work for every person with Type 1 Diabetes. I’ll be curious to see if this kind of price cut is applied to other kinds of insulin. I know this isn't offering a solution to the whole problem, but if I am a diabetic who is on injections and using two kinds of insulin to keep myself alive, the price cut only impacts one of them. $150 in savings for one vial of Humalog is fine, but if I’m still spending $300 or more A month for my long acting insulin...
Last night was a sleepless night for me due to high blood sugars. I am lucky that I was able to open a new bottle of Humalog to change the insulin in my pump, but I know there are people who are rationing their insulin because they can’t afford it and are dying because of it. Somewhere there's a single parent of a child with Type 1, and they very well may be needing to choose between paying rent and paying for their child's insulin and keeping them alive. I may not always be able to afford my insulin and supplies for the rest of my life. People are traveling to Mexico just to get less expensive insulin.
Humalog is literally keeping me alive right now. If I were paying out-of-pocket my monthly cost just for insulin would be $600. That doesn’t include insulin pump supplies or strips to test my blood sugar. If I were paying out-of-pocket for everything I need to stay alive on a daily basis it would easily equal $1000 per month.
The U.S. healthcare system is broken, and offering one type of insulin for half-price is only a Band-Aid for a much larger problem. I'm not an expert, and I don't have solutions. While I think this decision is a step in the right direction, there is still more to be done.
You can find the NBC news article referenced above here: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eli-lilly-offer-half-price-insulin-people-type-1-diabetes-n978981?fbclid=IwAR3s6gtEqrinlm6_vbggy1U0CCzrzqFmeVQSlvPNkehSz5WzHad8eET9t_E)
I’ve been thinking a lot about this decision since it was announced on Monday. I think this is a step in the right direction, and I’m glad to see that someone is finally addressing this outrageous issue. However, I have some concerns and questions.
No patient with Type 1 Diabetes is going to say they’d rather pay more for their insulin. Why not just lower the price of Humalog? Why make a whole new kind of insulin? Maybe that has something to do with insurance companies? Perhaps more accurately, it has to do with the three billion dollars Humalog makes in annual sales.
Will this new insulin be as effective as Humalog? If it’s as effective and doing the same thing, again, why not just lower the cost of Humalog? Because in our broken, for-profit system, Humalog is one of the most profitable brands of Insulin. And there’s a whole other issue of which insurance companies will cover this new insulin. The NBC news article I read said specifically this might be helpful for people who don’t have insurance or who are struggling with deductibles. But in the past the kind of insulin I’m able to use is pretty much dictated by what my insurance will cover. So if I have insurance that doesn't cover Humalog, and I'm having trouble with my deductible, will this insulin be an affordable option?
Humalog doesn't necessarily work for every person with Type 1 Diabetes. I’ll be curious to see if this kind of price cut is applied to other kinds of insulin. I know this isn't offering a solution to the whole problem, but if I am a diabetic who is on injections and using two kinds of insulin to keep myself alive, the price cut only impacts one of them. $150 in savings for one vial of Humalog is fine, but if I’m still spending $300 or more A month for my long acting insulin...
Last night was a sleepless night for me due to high blood sugars. I am lucky that I was able to open a new bottle of Humalog to change the insulin in my pump, but I know there are people who are rationing their insulin because they can’t afford it and are dying because of it. Somewhere there's a single parent of a child with Type 1, and they very well may be needing to choose between paying rent and paying for their child's insulin and keeping them alive. I may not always be able to afford my insulin and supplies for the rest of my life. People are traveling to Mexico just to get less expensive insulin.
Humalog is literally keeping me alive right now. If I were paying out-of-pocket my monthly cost just for insulin would be $600. That doesn’t include insulin pump supplies or strips to test my blood sugar. If I were paying out-of-pocket for everything I need to stay alive on a daily basis it would easily equal $1000 per month.
The U.S. healthcare system is broken, and offering one type of insulin for half-price is only a Band-Aid for a much larger problem. I'm not an expert, and I don't have solutions. While I think this decision is a step in the right direction, there is still more to be done.
You can find the NBC news article referenced above here: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eli-lilly-offer-half-price-insulin-people-type-1-diabetes-n978981?fbclid=IwAR3s6gtEqrinlm6_vbggy1U0CCzrzqFmeVQSlvPNkehSz5WzHad8eET9t_E)
