President Joe Biden has welcomed the move by Eli Lilly to significantly reduce the cost of insulin, a life-saving medication for people with diabetes. Calling it a “big deal”, he urged other manufacturers to follow suit.
The US president said that Eli Lilly, the largest manufacturer of insulin in the United States, had announced that they are capping what patients pay out of pocket for the drug maker’s insulin products at $35. He noted that insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it.
Lilly CEO David Ricks said that his company was making the changes to address issues that affect the price patients ultimately pay for its insulins. He noted that discounts Lilly offered from its list prices often did not reach patients through insurers or pharmacy benefit managers.
During his State of the Union address last month, Biden called for capping the price of insulin at $35 for all Americans, after a law came into effect that limited the cost for seniors on Medicare. He said that Big Pharma would still do very well even if prices were capped.
Ricks said that it will take time for insurers and the pharmacy system to implement its price cuts, so the drugmaker will immediately cap monthly out-of-pocket costs at $35 for people who are not covered by Medicare’s prescription drug programme.
Research has shown that insulin prices have more than tripled in the last two decades, and pressure is growing on drugmakers to help patients. The state of California has said it plans to explore making its own cheaper insulin, while companies like the nonprofit Civica plan to produce three insulins at a recommended price of no more than $30 a vial.
Larry Levitt, an executive vice president with the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation, said that drugmakers may be seeing “the writing on the wall that high prices can’t persist forever”. He added that Lilly is trying to get out ahead of the issue and look to the public like the good guy.
Ricks said that Lilly made the changes announced on Wednesday “because it’s time and it’s the right thing to do”. President Joe Biden has welcomed this move, calling it a “big deal” and urging other manufacturers to follow suit. He noted that insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it.
The US president said that Eli Lilly had announced that they are capping what patients pay out of pocket for the drug maker’s insulin products at $35. He called on Congress and manufacturers to lower insulin prices for everyone else, saying that it is “flat wrong” for American families to be crushed by drug costs many times higher than what people in other countries are charged for the same prescriptions.
Lilly CEO David Ricks said that his company was making the changes to address issues that affect the price patients ultimately pay for its insulins. He noted that discounts Lilly offered from its list prices often did not reach patients through insurers or pharmacy benefit managers. High-deductible coverage can lead to big bills at the pharmacy counter, particularly at the start of the year when the deductibles renew.
During his State of the Union address last month, Biden called for capping the price of insulin at $35 for all Americans, after a law came into effect that limited the cost for seniors on Medicare. He said that Big Pharma would still do very well even if prices were capped.
Research has shown that insulin prices have more than tripled in the last two decades, and pressure is growing on drugmakers to help patients. The state of California has said it plans to explore making its own cheaper insulin, while companies like the nonprofit Civica plan to produce three insulins at a recommended price of no more than $30 a vial.
President Joe Biden has welcomed Eli Lilly’s move as a “big deal” and urged other manufacturers to follow suit in order to help American families who are struggling with high drug costs. He noted that insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it.
Eli Lilly has said it will cut the list price for its most commonly prescribed insulin, Humalog, and for another insulin, Humulin, by 70 percent in the fourth quarter, which starts in October. It will also immediately cap monthly out-of-pocket costs at $35 for people who are not covered by Medicare’s prescription drug programme.
Larry Levitt from the Kaiser Family Foundation said that drugmakers may be seeing “the writing on the wall that high prices can’t persist forever”. He added that Lilly is trying to get out ahead of the issue and look to the public like the good guy.
The move by Eli Lilly is a positive step towards addressing issues related to high drug costs in America. President Joe Biden has welcomed this move and called on other manufacturers to follow suit in order to help American families who are struggling with high drug costs.