On March 1, 2023, Eli Lilly, the largest insulin producer in the United States of America, announced that they would cap the prices of insulin down to $35. Many people in the US have often spoken out against the previously high insulin prices, with some cases including diabetic individuals dying to a lack of insulin.
Background information
Why are these individuals having trouble obtaining insulin? For starters, diabetes a disease that prevents you from producing insulin. Insulin is necessary because it absorbs sugar into your body for energy. Without insulin, the sugar will stay in your bloodstream, turning your blood dangerously acidic, and can cause heart and kidney disease, to name a few problems.
Another thing we must understand is how expensive insulin is without insurance. This graph from GoodRx explains what the prices for the more common insulin prices are.
Many were concerned over these prices, so like in the example above, some individuals began to ration their insulin supply. Unfortunately, this can lead to Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), when too much sugar is in your blood.
Present
Around 7.4 million Americans use insulin to survive and treat their bodies.
It is important to note that this was publicly announced as a choice by a private company.
"This was not federally mandated; it's a choice. They can bring prices down now and bring it back up later," said Eric Moyal, founder of Project Insulin. This means that the power to bring down insulin prices is up to the pharmaceutical companies.