President Joe Biden has backed curbs on insulin costs. His Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, also supported them. This week, the goal was reaffirmed by Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who wrote to colleagues that negotiations were underway with Senate Republicans to lower insulin costs. It is part of an urgent push for economic relief for American families.
Democrats are looking to get back momentum on drug prices that they lost during endless rounds of intraparty disputes that stalled Biden’s domestic agenda. A few Republicans also want to see a victory in a policy area which galvanizes all voters. House Democrats believe that insulin legislation with 60 votes in the Senate will also be passed by their chamber.
Schumer is a cosponsor for a bill that Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) sponsored recently. It would limit insulin copays at $35 per month for Medicare patients and patients with private insurance. It would expand on the Medicare option that was launched by Trump’s administration as an experiment, but the bill’s cosponsors include no Republicans.
Senator Susan Collins, R. Maine, said she is preparing to introduce bipartisan legislation. This will help uninsured patients, who are the ones paying for rising insulin prices. Collins said she is currently working with Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat from New Hampshire), and their bill could include something similar to Warnock’s.
Warnock stated Tuesday that he believes there should be enough support for the bill to pass in a bipartisan manner. “Something so puny as politics shouldn’t get in the way to provide access to a lifesaving drug,” Warnock said. Health care is a key issue for the freshman senator.
Collins states that a cap on copays for insurance patients is only partial because it doesn’t help the uninsured. Because they are not eligible for deep discounts offered by insurers or middlemen companies that manage prescription benefit, the uninsured end up paying high list prices.
Collins stated in an interview that they are now looking at insulin pricing as a whole. Collins said, “It is a priority both Jeanne and I, and we believe that we are positioned for the advancement of a well-thought out bill.” They will introduce it later in the month.
Nearly 30 Million Americans suffer from diabetes. More than 6 Million people use insulin to control their blood sugar levels. This is an old drug that has been refined over time and has seen a steady rise in its price. Patients who cannot afford insulin can skip their doses. This can cause serious complications or even death.
Juliette Cubanski is a Medicare expert at the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. She says that the idea to limit insulin costs may have originated in the states, and then caught the attention of federal officials.
The Trump administration reached an agreement with drugmakers in order to give Medicare enrollees the opportunity to sign up for prescription plans that cover insulin at $35 per month. Warnock’s bill codifies Medicare’s demonstration program into federal law. All Medicare drug plans as well as individual and employer policies would have to cover insulin products at $35 per month.
Cubanski stated that it would be beneficial for those with insurance who have a high-deductible they must meet. “The only problem is that people without insurance who aren’t able to afford insulin the most often have difficulty paying for it.”
Biden’s domestic agenda includes drug pricing provisions that would address insulin costs from many angles. The bill would allow Medicare to negotiate insulin prices. The legislation will also limit Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket drug expenses and rein in annual medication price increases.
Democrats believe that drug pricing provisions and a health care package which would increase access to insurance and lower premiums still have a chance. A cosponsor of Warnock’s bill is Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), whose opposition has been a bane to Biden’s policy ambitions.
