WASHINGTON—The Endocrine Society cheered the Senate’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, including meaningful measures to make insulin more affordable.
The Society urges the House of Representatives to pass this bill and send it to the President without delay.
The bill’s passage is a historic step in addressing the problem of insulin affordability. More than 7 million people nationwide rely on insulin to manage their diabetes and live. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.3 million people nationwide have diabetes—11 percent of the country’s population.
While insulin was discovered more than 100 years ago, the price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013, and the trend upward has continued over the past decade. This has resulted in some people with diabetes being forced to choose between insulin and groceries and others having to ration their medication and become sicker, and, in some cases, even die.
We are pleased the Inflation Reduction Act includes provisions to lower the price of insulin and a cap on out-of-pocket insulin costs for people on Medicare. Unfortunately, the Senate missed an important opportunity to also help children and adults with type 1 diabetes. Forty-three Republicans voted against including a provision that would have capped out-of-pocket costs for individuals with private insurance that the Society supported.
The Society has worked for years to help our patients and make life-saving insulin more affordable for people with diabetes. Our position statement identified a spectrum of policy options for addressing the issue. We worked closely with Senators and Representatives on both sides of the aisle to try and find consensus. We shared stories from individuals with diabetes who cannot afford insulin. In addition, we conducted briefings and Hill Days, testified on Capitol Hill, organized grassroots campaigns, and met with Members of Congress to discuss the impact of high insulin prices on people with diabetes and call for action.
We are grateful to the Senators who helped advance this legislation, and we will continue to work with policymakers to ensure people with private insurance can also benefit from lower out-of-pocket costs.
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Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.