More than 29 million Americans, almost 10% of the population, have some form of diabetes. Many of these people depend on insulin to stay healthy – but the insulin prices are skyrocketing.
An article in Stat News says insulin prices have gone up because of new products that work better – but are very expensive. The article says the cost for many types of insulin has gone up nearly 200% over the last five years
From the article:
Meanwhile, some doctors say diabetic patients, who are typically 60 years old or more, have difficulty paying for drugs, especially those who have trouble once they hit the donut hole in the Medicare Part D program and have to cover costs themselves. “The cost of therapy is huge,” said Dr. Jane Bridges, a diabetologist in Vincennes, Ind. “I have patients who tell me that they have to stretch out the use of their medicines.”
Click on this link to read the full article.
STORIES OF PEOPLE HURT BECA– USE INSULIN PRICES ARE SKYROCKETING:
I have written about clients of mine who are severe diabetics and are clobbered by the cost of their insulin. Their stories are sad and disturbing.
They need insulin to stay healthy and already pay a big co-pay with their Part D plan. Most insulin co-pays are $45 per month and some drugs come with a $95 co-pay. Then they go into the donut hole/coverage gap and cannot afford the $300 – $500 cost for their drugs.
I wrote about a lady who called me saying she can’t afford her insulin now that she’s in the donut hole/coverage gap.
https://medicareblog.org/she-cant-afford-her-insulin/
I also wrote about a client who takes a lot of insulin but buys it at Walmart for $25 rather than using her Part D plan. The Part D plan pays $110 for the same product and charges her a $45 co-pay. So she goes to Walmart and pays $25 by not using her insurance.
https://medicareblog.org/medicare-and-insulin/
Here is a video presentation I prepared that explains how the Part D donut hole works and how a client who takes Victoza for his diabetes would go into the donut hole in just four months because Victoza is so expensive