Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed into law a measure that caps copayments of insulin to $100 a month.
The bill, sponsored by Representative Dylan Roberts, who lost his brother due to diabetes, requires the Department of Law to investigate the pricing of prescription insulin drugs and submit a report of its findings to the governor, the commissioner of insurance, and the judiciary committees of the senate and house of representatives.
“For Coloradans living with Type 1 Diabetes, insulin is essential to their survival. It is the same as oxygen. The skyrocketing cost of insulin is outrageous and it is literally putting people’s lives at risk,” said Roberts. “With this new law, Coloradans will no longer be forced to choose between this life-saving and life-sustaining drug and their other expenses.”
“This bill will save me personally $35 a month because of my private insurance. For other people, it could save them all the way up to $2,000 or more a month,” said Betsy Ray, an insulin user, following the bill signing.
Rep. Dylan Roberts’ little brother, Murphy, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 10 in 2004. Murphy died last year after suffering a fall that resulted from a diabetic seizure.
“Our family learned to live with diabetes and how crucial insulin is to staying alive,” Roberts said.
New Half-Price Insulin Faces Criticism
A half-price version of Eli Lilly’s popular Humalog insulin is now on sale. But people with diabetes and critics say the measure falls short, given that patients who require insulin outside the U.S. pay far less than the $137.35 per vial price for lispro. In the U.S., the cost of insulin for Type 1 diabetics has almost doubled over a five-year period, prompting some to cut back on their medication.
We’re talking about ‘hush hush’ topics in diabetes wellness such as intimacy issues, fears and food phobias with musical inspiration from H.E.R. on May’s Diabetes Late Nite.
H.E.R. chooses to keep her true identity a secret but that’s proving harder to do after winning Best New Artist and Best R&B Song Grammy Awards this past year.
Guests include Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND, Cheryl Farley “Food as Medicine” Nutritionist, Dr. Dugan Maddux and the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach.
Throughout the podcast we will be playing music from H.E.R.’s “I Used To Know Her: The Prelude” album courtesy of SONY Music.
Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.