Lifesaving Legislation Caps the Monthly Cost of Insulin at $35 per Month
Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) delivered the following remarks on the House floor today in support of H.R. 6833, The Affordable Insulin Now Act:
Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of The Affordable Insulin Now Act, which is critical to protecting more than seven million American patients who rely on insulin.
Today, one in four Americans who need insulin report either having cut back or skipped doses because the cost is simply too high. That is heartbreaking and unacceptable. No one should have to ration their insulin to help reduce costs, risking their health and in some tragic cases, costing them their lives.
This bill will make insulin more affordable by capping the out-of-pocket cost for consumers and addressing the vast disparities between what people pay for insulin in other countries as compared to the United States.
Right now, Americans are paying more than ten times the price for insulin as people in other high-income countries. That’s simply not fair. Right now, one out of every five Americans who depend on insulin have out-of-pocket costs of more than $35 dollars per month. That is unconscionable considering it that has been in use for over a century.
I have heard my colleagues across the aisle contend that net prices for insulin keep going down in recent years, but what they don’t tell you is that list prices – which are the price set by the manufacturer, and which patient cost sharing is based off of – keep going up. I don’t think any of our constituents would claim to be feeling relief from the high costs of insulin in recent years. In fact, some reports note that the average retail price for insulin rose 54 percent – more than double – from 2014 to 2019.
Today, we have the opportunity to provide some much-needed relief to the millions of Americans who rely on this drug for their health and well-being by capping out-of-pocket costs for both the private health insurance market and for Medicare Part D.
Make no mistake, I continue to strongly support comprehensive efforts to rein in the soaring cost of prescription drugs and empowering Medicare to negotiate fair prices, but we cannot afford to wait any longer to address the price of insulin. Far too many Americans are struggling to afford this drug and it is time for Congress to say enough is enough.
I commend Representatives Craig, Kildee and, McBath for their leadership and hard work to bring this important legislation to the House floor. Thanks to their tireless efforts, we are one step closer to addressing the cost of insulin by capping out-of-pocket costs at no more than $35 per month.
I urge all of my colleagues to support this lifesaving legislation.
Original source can be found here.
