Colorado Becomes First State to Cap Insulin Prices at $100
He lost his little brother to Type 1 diabetes. For Colorado State Representative Dylan Roberts the fight to cap insulin prices isn't just politics, it's personal.
Colorado First State to Cap Insulin at $100
Colorado is the first U.S. state to cap the cost of insulin co-pays at $100 a month for insured residents. State Rep. Dylan Roberts sponsored the bill in honor of his brother. He says this has been his mission since joining the Colorado statehouse in 2017. The law also directs Colorado’s attorney general to investigate insulin prices. About 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association — and it's getting harder to afford the medication.
7.4 million Americans with diabetes need insulin to survive based on data from the American Diabetes Association. The price of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013. And it continues to rise — nearly doubling between 2012 and 2016 according Health Care Cost Institute. It’s left some diabetics having to go without insulin or ration their doses — risking death.
President Donald Trump has signaled for more than two years that runaway drug prices would be a target of his administration, but his tough talk has yet to result in much action. Medicare still pays 80 percent more than consumers pay in other industrial countries for some of the costliest drugs, according to a government study from last year. A group of Type 1 diabetics took a #CaravantoCanada to buy cheaper insulin. Rep. Roberts says he wants more states to follow Colorado's lead. The bill is personal for Roberts, whose brother Murphy died in a fall related to a diabetic seizure. But the cost of the drug has forced some diabetics to ration its use, Roberts said. His bill passed its first committee vote with bipartisan support.
Brut.
Colorado First State to Cap Insulin at $100
Colorado is the first U.S. state to cap the cost of insulin co-pays at $100 a month for insured residents. State Rep. Dylan Roberts sponsored the bill in honor of his brother. He says this has been his mission since joining the Colorado statehouse in 2017. The law also directs Colorado’s attorney general to investigate insulin prices. About 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association — and it's getting harder to afford the medication.
7.4 million Americans with diabetes need insulin to survive based on data from the American Diabetes Association. The price of insulin tripled between 2002 and 2013. And it continues to rise — nearly doubling between 2012 and 2016 according Health Care Cost Institute. It’s left some diabetics having to go without insulin or ration their doses — risking death.
President Donald Trump has signaled for more than two years that runaway drug prices would be a target of his administration, but his tough talk has yet to result in much action. Medicare still pays 80 percent more than consumers pay in other industrial countries for some of the costliest drugs, according to a government study from last year. A group of Type 1 diabetics took a #CaravantoCanada to buy cheaper insulin. Rep. Roberts says he wants more states to follow Colorado's lead. The bill is personal for Roberts, whose brother Murphy died in a fall related to a diabetic seizure. But the cost of the drug has forced some diabetics to ration its use, Roberts said. His bill passed its first committee vote with bipartisan support.
Brut.