SHERRY YATES YOUNG / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / AP
On Sunday, Senate Republicans struck down a proposal to limit insulin costs paid by non-Medicare patients.
The price of medicine a century ago tripled For two decades, diabetics have been forced to spend thousands of dollars on life-saving medication.
Senator Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) has proposed a $35 cap on monthly insulin costs as part of the Democrats’ universal health and climate package, which the Senate is about to pass. But during a long weekend of back-to-back votes on the legislation, Republicans eliminated the cap on patients subject to private insurance. The senator, a nonpartisan adviser, decided that the non-Medicare portion of the proposed cap did not comply with the rules of conciliation, a tactic Democrats are taking to pass legislation and avoid Republican obstruction.
In a partial victory for Democrats, the portion of legislation setting insulin costs for Medicare patients was left untouched. more than 7 million Americans rely on insulin to manage their diabetes, including more than 3 million Medicare beneficiaries. The co-payments for monthly insulin are crowned In 20 states, including nine where the limit is $35 or less.
