Congress: Don’t Stop With Insulin Costs – Lower Drug Prices Now
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote today on H.R. 6833, the Affordable Insulin Now Act, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Daniel Kildee (D-Mich.), and Lucy McBath (D-Ga.). The bill would cap monthly out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 for people with insurance. Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, issued the following statement:
“Insulin prices are a deadly outrage — an expression of greed and the absurd failure of a medical system that bends to corporate will.
“The Affordable Insulin Now Act will protect many people living with diabetes from this price abuse and help curb the insulin rationing that has cost lives and caused great suffering. But while this legislation will help many patients, it does not lower prices or impose the necessary disciplines on corporations that keep insulin prices high.
“The U.S. Senate should strengthen the bill to confront directly the high prices set by insulin manufacturers and expand it to ensure access for people without insurance. Then Congress must immediately get back to work fulfilling its promise to give the federal government the power to negotiate drug prices on behalf of Medicare and challenging medicine price spikes.
“University researchers isolated insulin a century ago and gifted it to humanity. It is a grave injustice that anyone struggles for access to insulin today. We thank Rep. Craig and her colleagues for standing up for people living with diabetes and providing this needed relief.”