To the editor:
A young man I know was diagnosed with Type I, insulin-dependent diabetes when he was sixteen; for the past 21 years insulin has kept him alive.
According to the CDC, over 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes. Not all of them have insurance. The young man is one of the “lucky” ones as his insulin is covered by his company. Yet under the current system, should he lose his job he would be unable to pay out-of-pocket for his insulin. Insurance should not be dependent upon where, or even if a person works; it should be a given that as an American citizen, there is coverage no matter where they work, or even if they work.
I have heard of young people rationing their insulin because of the high cost/no insurance dilemma. They later suffer the ultimate sacrifice: death. Insulin was discovered nearly 100 years ago but today the drug is still unaffordable for too many Americans. Back in 1996 the price for a one-month supply of Eli Lilly’s Humalog was $21. Now, in 2019, that vial is said to be around $275. That is a 1,200 percent increase in 23 years. No American should die because they can’t afford a century-old drug that can be profitably developed for $72 a year.
Elizabeth Warren’s Medicare For All plan will use existing authorities to contract for manufacture of affordable insulin for all Americans who need this life-saving drug. It is time.
D’Vorah Kelley
Keene