Today, Eli Lilly announced that the company would limit the cost of insulin to $35 per month, expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s cap to everyone. Lowering insulin costs will give millions of families more breathing room — especially rural Americans and people of color who are more likely to suffer from diabetes and struggle to afford their health care costs. Coverage makes clear Eli Lilly’s insulin cap will help millions of patients afford this lifesaving medication and that this is the direct result of President Biden and Congressional Democrats passing the insulin cap for seniors last year. Republicans, on the other hand, fought hard to prevent the insulin cap from taking effect and continue to advocate for repealing it altogether.
HEADLINES:
NBC News: Drugmaker Eli Lilly Caps The Cost Of Insulin At $35 A Month, Bringing Relief For Millions. “The cap automatically applies to people with private insurance. People without insurance will be eligible as long as they sign up for Eli Lilly’s copay assistance program. That program began providing insulin to patients — regardless of their insurance statuses — for no more than $35 a month in 2020 because of the pandemic. The cap applies to all of Eli Lilly’s insulin products, said Kelly Smith, a spokesperson for the company. In addition to the cost caps, the company will lower the list price for several of its products, including Humalog, this year.” [NBC News, 3/1/23]
The New York Times: Eli Lilly Says It Will Cut The Price Of Insulin. “The drug maker Eli Lilly and Company said on Wednesday that it would significantly reduce the prices of several of its lifesaving insulin products that are used by diabetes patients and whose prices Lilly has repeatedly increased in the past. Lilly also said it would cap at $35 a month what patients pay out of pocket for the drugmaker’s insulin products.” [The New York Times, 3/1/23]
NPR: Eli Lilly Cuts Price Of Insulin, Capping Drugs At $35 Per Month Out-Of-Pocket. “Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a statement that it will take time for insurers and the pharmacy system to implement its price cuts, so the drugmaker will immediately cap monthly out-of-pocket costs at $35 for people who are not covered by Medicare’s prescription drug program. The drugmaker said the cap applies to people with commercial coverage and at most retail pharmacies. Lilly said people without insurance can find savings cards to receive insulin for the same amount at its InsulinAffordability.com website.” [NPR, 3/1/23]
The Washington Post: Eli Lilly To Cut Insulin Prices By 70 Percent. “Eli Lilly said it is slashing the prices of commonly prescribed insulin drugs by 70 percent while capping related out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month, a move meant to help address long-standing concerns about the high cost of diabetes care… Some 7 million Americans require insulin daily. A Yale University study published in July 2022 found that 14 percent of those insulin users are spending at least 40 percent of their income after food and housing costs on the medicine.” [The Washington Post, 3/1/23]
The Wall Street Journal: Eli Lilly To Cut Prices Of Insulin Drugs By 70%, Cap Patient Costs To $35. “The company also said that on May 1 it would reduce the list price of an unbranded insulin it sells to $25 a vial from $82 a vial, the lowest level for any insulin that diabetes patients take around mealtimes, and less than Lilly’s list price for a Humalog vial in 1999. And it plans to improve a program capping patients’ out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month.” [The Wall Street Journal, 3/1/23]