INVESTIGATES: Lifesaving drug for diabetics in the center of national debate

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — World Diabetes Alert Day is this week and it comes as the lifesaving drug for many diabetics is a part of national debate. It all stems from the sky-high price of insulin.

Action News Jax investigator Emily Turner took a closer look at the cost of the drug and the toll that price tag takes on the health of diabetics.

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The push for capped insulin prices isn’t a new one. The Florida legislature talked about doing it last year, but didn’t. The feds are debating it currently and a pharmaceutical nonprofit is in the process of coming up with cheaper options.

But while all this is happening, many diabetics are having to make hard decisions about their health because they can’t afford not to.

“Diabetes is never just diabetes,” says Type 1 diabetic Aria Todd. “It’s relentless, it’s never-ending. "

For the last 15 years, Todd has been battling a disease she will never beat. There is no cure for Type 1 diabetes.

“It’s everything,” she says about the drug. “It’s the only reason I’m standing here today.”

And yet the medicine that keeps her alive costs her hundreds each month — with insurance. For diabetics without coverage, it’s even more expensive: up to $6,000 a month.

In a recent survey, insurance company Florida Blue found 1 in 4 diabetics who need insulin skip a dose because of the high price. “It’s making the decision do you pay rent or go to the pharmacy,” says Todd.

But those decisions come at a cost to health. Dr. John Whyte with WebMD says foregoing or even rationing insulin could create more health issues down the line, risking things like organ failure or infections. “That’s very dangerous,” he says about foregoing a dose. “Those people need insulin to survive because their pancreas doesn’t create enough insulin.”

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Federally, an insulin cap of $35/month is proposed as part of the Build Back Better plan. That’s currently stalled in the Senate. While pharma nonprofit Civica RX is working on a generic form of the drug that would cost users $30 or less a month, it likely won’t be available until next year.

Until then, Aria says, “the emotional depth of diabetes — along with the financial depth, it’s really hard… and at the end of the day we are humans like everyone else, needing this to stay alive.”

Insulin is just part of the forever financial burden of the disease — diabetics also have to pay for endless medical supplies like meters, test strips and syringes. But capping insulin would at least be a start.

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