Pritzker signs insulin cost cap into law
New law takes effect next year, sets insulin price at $100 a month
Backed by insulin patients and lead sponsor Sen. Andy Manar (right), Gov. Pritzker signs the cost cap into law. (Facebook/State Sen. Andy Manar)
By Ted Cox
Governor Pritzker signed a bill into law on Friday capping insulin costs at $100 a month.
“Health care is a right for all, not a privilege, and that is why I am so proud that we created an insulin price cap that successfully puts patients above profit,” Pritzker said at a signing ceremony in Springfield. “As we work to address the high cost of prescription drug prices that are burdening millions all across our state, this new law is an essential step in fulfilling our promise to put state government back on the side of working families.”
According to a news release from the Governor’s Office, 1.3 million Illinoisans have diabetes, and “regular price hikes make insulin difficult to afford for the uninsured and those whose coverage requires significant cost sharing.
“Many patients either forgo insulin or they ration their prescribed insulin dose to stretch it until they can afford the next prescription,” the release added. “One in four Type 1 diabetics have reported insulin underuse due to the high cost of insulin.”
The new law, which fully takes effect next year, caps insulin costs at $100 a month. It applies to an estimated 260,000 Illinois diabetics enrolled in state-monitored health plans, such as the Obamacare offerings in the state’s health marketplace. But that’s expected to exert a drag on other federally regulated forms of health insurance, including most insurance attained through the workplace.
State Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill, a lead sponsor, applauded the bill’s bipartisan support, as it passed in what he called “record time” over five days during last fall’s veto session by votes of 43-1 in the Senate and 100-13 in the House.
“The outrageous cost of insulin is hurting too many families in Illinois, and this bill will provide some protection for thousands of our neighbors,” said state Rep. Will Guzzardi of Chicago, lead sponsor in the House. “It's a first step toward reining in out-of-control drug costs in our state."
Manar credited grassroots groups like the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, AARP, and the American Diabetes Association, as well as everyday insulin patients who pushed for the bill’s passage. “When people speak up and demand change, we respond,” Manar said. “Lawmakers respond. The governor responds.”
While the price cap takes effect next year, the state Department of Insurance will immediately begin compiling a pricing report on insulin.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has sponsored federal legislation attempting to rein in insulin costs, stating: “When insulin was first invented a century ago, the researchers sold the patent to the University of Toronto for just $1 each, hoping that the drug would be used to save lives for everyone who needed it. But over the last decade, the list price for common insulin products in the United States has tripled, despite the fact that the products are essentially the same.” Durbin blamed abuses in patent law by major pharmaceutical companies for what he called price gouging.