why is insulin so expensive?
Insulin manufacturers Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Mylan set the current price of insulin at $275+/vial. This price represents a 1200% (or 10x) increase on the exact same insulins since the early 2000s. For two decades, competing manufacturers have increased insulin prices in lockstep up to twice per year by an average of 13% annually.
For a more in-depth look at U.S. insulin prices, check out “Why is Insulin Expensive?”
Are Insulin Prices a crisis?
Yes. Every person needs insulin to live. People with diabetes either make zero insulin (type 1, LADA), not enough insulin (type 2, MODY,), or their bodies cannot properly use the insulin they make (type 2, gestational). Without insulin, a person will die within days of the horrific complications of diabetic ketoacidosis. Without sufficient insulin, a person will face long-term, devastating complications such as blindness, amputations, kidney failure, and ultimately death.
One in four people with diabetes ration insulin in the United States. The price of insulin and other barriers, such as prescription and insurance plan requirements, make insulin incredibly difficult to access. Insulin rationing has led to many, publicly reported deaths due to rationing insulin and countless others who are facing long-term complications.
What about insurance?
In the United States, before the pandemic, 12.5 percent of adults were uninsured. That number has likely risen exponentially in the past year. People with insulin-dependent diabetes who are uninsured must pay the list price for insulin, at $275+/vial.
haven’t states capped the price of insulin?
No. Some states have enacted copay caps for those state residents on specific insurance plans. Colorado was the first in the nation to pass a state insurance copay cap for insulin to $100 a month. Since then, several states have followed including Illinois, Maine, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia with copay caps ranging from $50 to $100. Many other states are looking towards this legislation as a model for their own states.
Meanwhile, politicians and the media message these bills as “price caps” and are not forthcoming with who the bills impact. The title of the Colorado bill was ”Reduce Insulin Prices” when HB19-1216 did no such thing.
A federal insulin price cap will impact all insulin-dependent people with diabetes in the United States.
But, on average, a state copay cap would impact only 27% of insurance plans in a state. This is because they only impact insurance plans that are regulated at the state level because these are the only insurance plans a state has jurisdiction over. This includes state-regulated employer insurance (~40% of employer insurance plans) and marketplace plans only.
is there public support for an end to the insulin crisis?
Yes, Data for Progress found, for example, that 79% of Virginians support free insulin for diabetic patients..
Isn’t insulin $25 at Walmart?
Walmart sells older, “human” insulin from the 1980s “behind the counter” for approximately $25 a vial. This insulin has not been the standard of care insulin for two decades and is difficult to use. Accessing this older insulin isn’t without financial or logistical burdens. It is not patently affordable or accessible. Additionally, using this insulin, compared with more modern, analog insulins, adds more “biological” and “social” burdens to surviving. Please see our deep dive, “15 Myths About Walmart Insulin” to learn more.
On average, insulin is priced five to ten times higher in the United States of America compared to in other countries. Even when taking into account potential rebates, which only some patients qualify for, insulin in the United States is still much more expensive. Read Comparing Insulin Prices in the United States to Other Countries for more information on this topic.