13 June 2019 - The high (and rising) cost of insulin is forcing diabetics to risk their lives to get the drug.
Insulin has become so unaffordable that Type 1 diabetics are pushed to take risks, like rationing and buying from strangers online. The video Op-Ed above reveals the lengths to which they go to get a nearly century-old drug and how Americans are dying from a perfectly manageable autoimmune disease. Patent laws and existing regulations allow the top three manufacturers to continuously increase prices without consequences.
Colorado has recently capped insulin co-payments, and Congress is actively investigating why the price of insulin is so high. Eli Lilly, one of the top three insulin makers, has also announced a half-price alternative to its top-selling product. But this is not enough: Insulin must be affordable and accessible to prevent more unnecessary deaths.