Price of insulin has skyrocketed in the US, even though nothing about it has changed

[ck4829]

The skyrocketing cost of insulin has become a crisis in the US. Some people are dying because they can't afford the life-saving drug.

In the last decade, the list prices of common types of insulin have roughly tripled, even though they're the exact same products offered 10 years ago.

In 2009, the list price for a 10-milliliter vial of Humalog, a fast-acting insulin made by Eli Lilly, was about $93. Today it costs closer to $275. Similarly, Novo Nordisk's fast-acting insulin Novolog cost almost $93 for a 10-milliliter vial in 2009. Today, it costs about $290.

The prices of Humalog and Novolog have essentially increased in lockstep. We've seen similar price hikes for Lantus, a common long-acting insulin made by Sanofi, and long-acting Levemir, also made by Novo Nordisk.

https://www.businessinsider.com/insulin-price-increased-last-decade-chart-2019-9

[ck4829]

1. "Socialist price controls will do a lot of left-wing damage to the healthcare system"

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100212477329

[TheRealNorth]

2. Our beautiful Free Market at work

There is so little competition now because any start-ups that are competiition are either bought up or are crushed by being undersold.

[CurtEastPoint]

3. These companies are fucking criminal enterprises and should be prosecuted. Or nationalized.

[applegrove]

4. Are the insurance companies paying the outragious prices too? Or are

they negotiating?

[ooky]

9. Both.

[applegrove]

12. So insurance industry patients can negotiate better prices. So people

with private drug insurance get good prices. And they are better off. Talk about an picking winners and losers. More like picking living and diers.

[ooky]

13. The patients don't negotiate better prices, but they do get the better price the insurance

company negotiates with the insulin supplier. The last time I checked with my son's insurance company, this is how it was explained to me and him. The retail price of his insulin was $890 for a 90 day supply from the insulin supplier. The insurance company negotiated the price to $552. Until he met his deductible, he had to pay the $552 price with the insurance. Without insurance the price would be the full $890. Once he met his deductible the insurance would kick in and he would have a copay of 20%, making his cost around $100. But the annual deductible he had to meet on that employee insurance plan was $3000, so he would never get to $100 price.

This was two employers ago, and his new employer has a better plan for the insulin price. So now he is getting gouged for the infusion sets for his $5000 insulin pump. Without the pump his diabetes management is much worse, and would likely take years off his life and cause earlier onset of complications. Government policies on this disease are a nightmare for those who have it.

[applegrove]

14. Oh that just makes me want to weep. I'm not saying insurance companies

should not be able to negotiate. I think the government should too. It is market failure for everybody. My brother pays less than $100. We are in canada. We have not been gouged. But yeah insulin, like any drug, should never be used to hold people hostage. Economist has an article today that says shortages are because drug manufacturing is now done in china, has low profit margins, takes alot of quality control, and only a few big manufacturers are disrupting drug productiin too. This aside from the obvious gouging in the USA. It all means MARKET FAILURE and that is when governments should step in if they are a liberal democracy.

[FakeNoose]

5. The tariffs are the change

Insulin is made in China, and Chump is forcing tariffs on the Chinese manufacturers. Thereby cutting off his nose for spite, but apparently the Repukes don't see it that way.

[Vinca]

7. The price of insulin was stupidly high before the tariffs.

IMO, the U.S. government should manufacture the stuff and give it out free of charge.

[applegrove]

11. Some hospitals are getting into manufacturing drugs. Problem is high quality

control and plants in China, small profit margins and just a few big pharma companies.(Economist) So much for the free market. It obviously can't do the job. Market failure. Market failure. Market failure.

[FakeNoose]

16. But ... but ... but ...

There's no profit in making insulin! Why should the pharma manufacturers be forced to do that, when they can make so much dough on Oxycontin and Viagra?

[Skittles]

6. legalized extortion

[catrose]

8. Been observing this for 20 years.

[ooky]

10. 26 years for me. n/t

[Humanist_Activist]

15. The United States needs to institute price controls and tightly regulate pricing on Rx drugs...

medical devices and medical procedures.

[Johnny2X2X]

17. Capitalism doesn't work for some things

No that there are people that go to bed every night proud of themselves for having killed their fellow Americans by raising the prices of their life saving medications so they can add a little more to their already swollen bank accounts.