Eli Lilly insulin products to receive major price cut
Pair of Hamilton County residents believe many will benefit from better affordability
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — For those living with diabetes, financial relief for your insulin could soon be very well on the way.
CBS News reports that “Eli Lilly plans to cut prices on its most commonly prescribed insulin products by 70%.”
A pair of Hamilton County residents say this is something that’s been a long time coming for diabetics and could literally be a lifesaver.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is cutting the price of its insulin products in a big way.
Out-of-pocket costs for said products could soon be capped at just $35 a month for customers with commercial insurance.
“With the change last year in the Medicare Part D benefit — the senior benefit to 35 dollars — we think that should be the new standard in America,” said Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks. “Lilly’s going to buy down all of our customers out of pocket costs to 35 dollars at the pharmacy counter automatically.”
For Phil Smith of Hixson’s Access Family Pharmacy, it’s a move that can’t come soon enough and is a “welcome change,” as many who’ve had to either ration medication or forego it entirely could soon receive much-needed relief.
“A lot of people just go without,” Smith said. “That’s been really bad because you don’t know what to do to help them when they can’t afford their insulin that’s two-to-five hundred dollars when they come in to pick up their script.”
Smith says those unable to receive long-term, consistent prescriptions of insulin are at a higher risk for blindness, kidney failure, nerve pain, and more.
“Short term, not so worried about it,” Smith said. “But people who have been doing it for five to ten years, those are the people you worry about because (IF) you have those long-term effects, you can’t reverse those.”
News 12 Chief Meteorologist Austin Onyk is a type-two diabetic and has been declined in the past for insulin coverage on his insurance, due to using “too much” of it.
He calls insulin “life-saving medication” that should be “low-cost” or “free” for many.
“I was told, ‘no, you’re not going to have it anymore so change insurance policies because we’re not going to do it,'” Onyk said. “I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like out there for people who don’t have it. This is a very good sign that we are seeing, kind of, the tide turning and saying this is what we need to do for the general public.”
CBS News also reports that “about 3 in 10 diabetics in the U.S. rely on insulin from Eli Lilly.”
Smith told me earlier that should more expensive insulin products not be included in Lilly’s new price plans, it would be “worth changing” some diabetics to products that are.
