As 2023 comes to a close, we at JDRF  — the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research — would like to acknowledge the recent steps lawmakers have taken in Congress to lower the cost of insulin.

First introduced as the Insulin Price Reduction Act in 2019, the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act of 2023 was introduced earlier this year after receiving input from advocates, lawmakers, and experts, including many of us here at JDRF.

This bipartisan bill, authored by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, would expand upon the insulin copay cap already in place for those with Medicare by ensuring that individuals with commercial insurance pay no more than $35 or 25% of the list price per month for at least one insulin of each type and dosage form.

But the INSULIN Act does not stop there. The INSULIN Act would tackle the root causes of high drug prices. By requiring pharmacy benefit managers — or middlemen standing between patients and their medicines — to pass through 100% of insulin rebates and other discounts received from manufacturers to plan sponsors, the INSULIN Act would reduce perverse incentives in the insulin market that currently encourage high list prices.  And to support the market entry of lower cost products, the bill would create an expedited FDA approval pathway for products lacking adequate generic competition. More choices in the insulin market would drive down prices, by creating competition.

The cause of insulin’s high price is multifaceted, so our remedies to this crisis must be as well. The INSULIN Act would help to improve the lives of those living with diabetes because it was researched, planned, and written in conjunction with diabetes experts, diabetes advocates, and diabetes patients.

We urge the Senate to pass the INSULIN Act without further delay.

Lynn Starr

Chief Global Advocacy Officer

JDRF

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