Eli Lilly announced a series of price cuts on Wednesday that would reduce the price of the most commonly used forms of its insulin by 70%, as well as an automatic cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 for people with private insurance who use participating pharmacies. Lilly also plans to expand its Insulin Value Program, which limits out-of-pocket costs for uninsured patients to $35 or less per month.
According to the company, the list price of its nonbranded insulin will be reduced to $25 per vial on May 1, making it the lowest list-priced mealtime insulin available. The current list price for a vial is $82.41.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Lilly will also reduce the list price of Humulin and its most commonly prescribed insulin, Humalog. A Humalog vial currently costs $274.70, and the new price will be $66.40. Out-of-pocket costs for people with commercial insurance who use participating pharmacies will now be capped at $35. Although insulin is relatively inexpensive to produce, the price has been a long-standing issue for many Americans. At least 16.5% of people in the United States who use it report rationing it due to cost.
According to the American Diabetes Association, the average price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013. According to GoodRx research, the trend has continued, with the average retail price of insulin increasing by 54% between 2014 and 2019. According to a 2022 study, demand for insulin has increased significantly as diabetes has become the world’s fastest-growing chronic disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of adults with diabetes in the United States has more than doubled in the last 20 years, with more than 37.3 million people now suffering from the disease.
Another 96 million Americans, or 38% of the population, have prediabetes, a condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal but not high enough to warrant a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. Diabetes is frequently the result of this. Diabetes patients rely on insulin because their bodies either don’t produce enough of it or don’t use it efficiently to convert food into energy. When someone eats, their body breaks down the food, primarily into sugar. When sugar enters the bloodstream, the pancreas releases insulin, which acts like a key to allow the sugar to energies cells.
Diabetes, on the other hand, can cause serious complications such as kidney disease, heart disease, and blindness if sugar remains in the bloodstream for an extended period. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2019. The Inflation Reduction Act of this year set the monthly cost of insulin for seniors with Medicare Part D at $35. Democrats in Congress pushed to extend the price cap to people with private insurance, but Republicans removed it from the bill.
