Insulin costs may be capped in a Medicare program – By Katie Thomas (The New York Times) / March 11 2020
A new Medicare pilot program would lower the cost of insulin to $35 a prescription for older Americans who need the lifesaving drugs, the Trump administration announced Wednesday.
If insulin manufacturers and insurers agree to offer the plans — which are voluntary — then people 65 and older who need insulin could save an average of $446 a year beginning in January 2021, according to Medicare officials.
More than 3.3 million Medicare beneficiaries take at least one of the common forms of insulin.
The average list price of insulin roughly doubled to about $450 a month in 2016 from around $234 a month in 2012.
And the cost has risen even higher since then, driving much of the outrage over high drug prices with Congress and the public pressuring drugmakers and insurers to reduce the burden on consumers.
Many people who are diabetic need insulin and cannot live without it. Some have gone so far as to ration their doses, unable to afford to spend the money for their prescriptions.
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