HAZELWOOD, Mo. — Insulin for $35 or less — that's the news from Eli Lilly, a maker of the diabetes drug. The affordable price tag is for all patients, not just ones with Medicare or private insurance.
Affordability is a long time coming for people with diabetes. Insulin users have made headlines in recent years with the rising cost of the drug forcing people to try and go without or limit their doses, against their doctor's advice.
"We wish we weren't hearing those stories," Mercy Clinic Endocrinologist Dr. Philip Clerc, "but we do hear about patients that do stretch their insulin to make it until the next time they can get their refill."
Wednesday morning's announcement from Eli Lilly could change that. "Lilly's going to buy down all of our customers' out-of-pocket cost down to $35 automatically," Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said in an interview with CNN.
Clerc responded to the news, "This is a big step in the right direction for the patients that really need the most help covering their insulin costs."
Insulin prices vary based on type and brand. Lilly's Humalog is currently $274 per vial. The company's generic option is $82.
"Cost of insulin has been a huge issue, lately and even in the past few decades," Clerc said. "With inflation recently making that worse, we are always looking for how we can help patients save money and this is a step in the right direction."
The CDC's most recent report says over 37 million people in the U.S. have diabetes.
"It's a very wide range of patients that are affected," Clerc said. "Starting from a very young age from a few years old, all the way up to patients being diagnosed even with type one, late onset type one into the late years, 70s and 80s, even. We see a very wide spectrum of patients that need insulin, so this can apply to almost any age group."