New Navigator polling reveals overwhelming bipartisan support for extending the Inflation Reduction Act’s cap on the prices of insulin for seniors to everyone regardless of age. Across political parties, race, ethnicity, and age groups, the support for lowering insulin costs for every American is astonishingly clear. The price cap on insulin for people on Medicare began on January 1, 2023, helping 3.2 million insulin users afford this life-saving medication.
Protect Our Care is highlighting the importance of lower insulin costs during the Fortnight of Action from February 14 to 28. The Inflation Reduction Act capped monthly insulin copays for seniors on Medicare, but an estimated 21 million Americans who use insulin will not benefit from these savings as a result of Republicans in Congress who blocked a provision to extend the cap to those with private insurance. Lowering insulin costs is especially important for people of color, who disproportionately suffer from diabetes and are more likely to skip, ration, or completely forgo insulin as a result of outrageous costs.
In a country where 80 percent of diabetics have had to go into debt in order to pay for insulin, this type of action by Republicans puts Big Pharma’s profits over real people. This new polling confirms that expanding the insulin copay cap is highly popular and that lawmakers should build on the momentum and extend it so everyone is guaranteed life-saving insulin at an affordable cost.