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Big pharma sells cheap insulin over the counter at Walmart for 20% less than the proposed cap of $35 that failed.
So another way to look at this is that you want increasingly specific, high tech improvements to produce niche insulin and then want those private companies to just sell it cheap?
Why not just give them the middle finger and buy the basic insulin from Walmart?
Oh wait. Why not just do what people did before big pharma and not even buy insulin?
Sorry folks but basic, inexpensive
insulin is readily available. I gave it to my Effing dog for over 2 years. You buy it at Walmart.
Asking for a 35 dollar cap, for something that costs under 28 in its basic form at Walmart is tough to process for me.
But by all means, enlighten us all of the evils of the industry that has made cheap insulin
over the counter and widely available.
Sure, it’s nice that these older insulins are easily accessible but they are not the solution for a long, healthy, full life for a person with diabetes. They are the last resort.
Both require a very rigid eating schedule. In the “old days” of type 1 diabetes management, a patient taking Regular and NPH insulin would have to eat a very specific number of carbohydrates every 2 to 3 hours.
If you don’t adhere to a consistent eating schedule and carbohydrate quantity, you will experience recurring severe low blood sugars.
People who resort to Walmart insulins, especially those who transition to it after years of using analogs, often struggle with the lack of flexibility and more precise timing required when using older forms of the substance. If insulin does not absorb quickly enough, it leaves people imperiled.
This is exactly what happened to 27-year-old Josh Wilkerson this past summer. The Washington Post reports that after aging out of his parent’s insurance, Wilkerson transitioned to Walmart insulin to afford treatment. But the older insulin did not take. He suffered multiple strokes, went into a coma and eventually died. His blood sugar was reported to be 17 times higher than normal.
Big pharma sells cheap insulin over the counter at Walmart for 20% less than the proposed cap of $35 that failed.
So another way to look at this is that you want increasingly specific, high tech improvements to produce niche insulin and then want those private companies to just sell it cheap?
Why not just give them the middle finger and buy the basic insulin from Walmart?
Oh wait. Why not just do what people did before big pharma and not even buy insulin?
Sorry folks but basic, inexpensive insulin is readily available. I gave it to my Effing dog for over 2 years. You buy it at Walmart.
Asking for a 35 dollar cap, for something that costs under 28 in its basic form at Walmart is tough to process for me.
But by all means, enlighten us all of the evils of the industry that has made cheap insulin
over the counter and widely available.
WALMART ReliOn insulin – or any human insulin – is not a solution or even a stopgap for people living with type 1 diabetes.
Here’s why:
1. Unpredictable – Human insulins have very different peak times and duration of action times from analogue insulins and do not offer the same coverage.
They are unpredictable and that’s a scary scenario for a person injecting the hormone. Humulin R doesn’t quite cover meal excursions and can lead to hypos. NPH doesn’t last long enough, especially if a person is hoping for 24 hour coverage from an intermediate insulin. People with type 1 diabetes require full-on coverage. Without any insulin production, we require 24 hour insulin coverage with or without food. In addition, it’s hard to calculate insulin sensitivity with human insulin. One unit of a modern analogue fast-acting insulin can easily equate to 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrate. Counting carbohydrates is so important for basal-bolus therapy – the backbone of good care. This is not exactly what’s at play here with human insulins. Imagine taking the 70/30 mix at least 30 minutes before a meal – like breakfast. You’d need to time the meal just right and chances are that R may or may not cover your food. It’s hard to know. Trial and error and eating the same thing every day would help. Intermediate acting NPH won’t cover you for 24 hours. It will cover for a basic 12 hours more likely, but this isn’t what it says on the pack.
You certainly can’t correct with this kind of insulin if you are high, and targets literally go out the window. Achieving near normal blood glucose for the person with type 1 diabetes is impossible. How do I know so much about Human insulin? I took it in the early 1980’s in high school then in college. Blood sugars in the 200s and 300s mgdL (11 – 17 mmoL) for a type 1 were not uncommon, and neither was DKA. I lost a friend to DKA who was just 18. Hypoglycemic episodes were dangerously unpredictable. Doctors were frustrated by outcomes and their patients were more or less blamed. Truly a no-win game. What’s even harder to fathom in our modern world is how most people with type 1 diabetes in developing countries must depend on these human insulins for life. It shouldn’t be surprising that this is one of the primary reasons complications like kidney disease, and early death are common.
When the manufacturers stop selling insulin in this country, people will have to buy it from Canada or Mexico.
They re not going to take a loss, or even reduce their profit much just because the government tells them to.
So the drug companies would sell it in Europe at a loss and have Americans pick up the difference. Well good luck to them if they stop selling in USA but still have to negotiate price in Europe. See your argument doesnt hold water. They arent selling at a loss in Europe, they are price gouging Americans just cause they can. So limit what they can charge anybody in America to the highest price they sell it for in Europe. This takes the bought and paid politicians off the hook with their benefactors. Though USA is such big market govt here could probably drive a harder bargain. Capitalism is NEGOTIATION on price. Cant come to an agreed price well better sell it in a different country. But since nobody else is paying what Americans are paying, good luck with that.
Tell the BigPharma companies they need to make X amount of doses at cost (and at cost is way less than $35). If they refuse, Medicare/Medicaid will stop doing business with them and they lose all patent protections on their insulin.
Besides this the government should buy it and give it to all those who need it. I’m happy for my taxpayer dollars go to this than Middle East wars or whatever
I appreciate some of the responses about the types of insulin but it also highlights the very points I've been making.
-Old insulin doesn't work as well.
-Company does lots of R&D, comes up with new insulins that cost a lot to develop and make.
-People say the better stuff is too expensive but won't use older stuff
-Demand price caps.
It's a bit of a tough circular argument there as we want the better insulin but at the same time we don't want the cost but if we cap costs then does it choke off development?
Seems a bit wonky to me when you have a company that makes these massive breakthroughs to improve health, the old methods are available still and they get demonized because the new product is too expensive.
P.S. This is not a defense of any shady actions or exceptions which I do not support.
I appreciate some of the responses about the types of insulin but it also highlights the very points I've been making.
-Old insulin doesn't work as well.
-Company does lots of R&D, comes up with new insulins that cost a lot to develop and make.
-People say the better stuff is too expensive but won't use older stuff
-Demand price caps.
It's a bit of a tough circular argument there as we want the better insulin but at the same time we don't want the cost but if we cap costs then does it choke off development?
Seems a bit wonky to me when you have a company that makes these massive breakthroughs to improve health, the old methods are available still and they get demonized because the new product is too expensive.
P.S. This is not a defense of any shady actions or exceptions which I do not support.
Ah yes, BigPharma spends a lot in R&D trope!
The best insulin comes from European companies (Sanofi or Novo Nordisk) yet USA not only has the highest insulin prices in the world, it’s by a factor of 10 from our European counterparts.
Of course a company will charge more if they can get away with it. But essential medicines should not be subject to market forces in a civilized society
It’s insane how the rest of the developed world has VASTLY cheaper insulin and people on this forum are saying it’s impossible to cheapen the cost and that the US just has to deal with high prices.
This isn’t a supply-and-demand issue, this is a price gouging issue because American consumers don’t have any better options.
I personally can't think of any good reason to oppose this, but why did majority of GOP vote No on this?
Price controls don't work, that's why. Someone may benefit, but many more will experience misallocation of resources and shortages.
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