A Quick Update: Insulin Costs Dropping?

Eli Lilly has slashed the prices for some of their insulins. Can this be the start of a new trend?

Hello, friends,

This is a quick (I mean quick!) cautiously-celebratory update on a prior topic we’d covered here, “How Can We Fix The Broken Insulin & Diabetes Medication System?” One of my chief critiques was that the $35/month insulin cap really only existed for patients in Medicare’s hands.

The concern I stated was that was that pharmaceutical companies would choose to shift their source of profits from Medicare patients to those who aren’t yet old enough to receive it. I.E. “We can only charge this group of patients so much, so let’s jack up the price on this other group.”

Today, Eli Lilly announced some combination of a price cap and/or a price cut for many of their insulin products. While the article mentions a $35/month price cap, that number seems hard to find in concrete terms. For example, the article also says that the costs of Humalog and Humalin will be cut by 70%, but does that apply to the $35/month cap? Additionally, the article starts off by saying that the cap might only apply to insured patients, leaving the uninsured out in the dust. (“Eli Lilly will cut prices for some older insulins later this year and immediately expand a cap on costs insured patients pay to fill prescriptions.”)

So, while it’s easy to welcome any and all price cuts, it’s the kind of fuzzy cut that really doesn’t make clear exactly who it will help, or how much. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see? I know, that sounds *so* exciting. I’m sure the people who need these products to wait are simply dying to find out. (This is my “annoyed-at-Capitalism” face.)

Okay, I’ll stop, now.

Oh, and for the record: Their stock closed up $3.03 today. Maybe cutting patient costs builds good PR and increases the chances of people using your products, hmm?

Thank you for reading The Progressive Cafe.  If this article has helped you, please consider signing up for our mailing list.  This article is by Jesse Pohlman, a sci-fi/fantasy author from Long Island, New York, whose website you can check out here.