The Price of Insulin Is Too High. Voters Support Capping It.
By Sabrina Jacobs and Ahmad Ali
American families face the pinch of pandemic-worsened inflation — yet the acute pain of high gas prices is nothing compared to the price gouging of insulin.
The researchers who pioneered the modern usage of insulin for treating diabetes sold the patent for $1 in hopes that its production would someday mean affordable and accessible treatment for everyone. Today, the cost of insulin in the United States is so unreasonably high that diabetes patients often ration insulin or face the difficult choice between insulin or other necessities of life There are 37 million Americans today living with diabetes; millions of them are treated with insulin therapy. Diabetes left untreated can eventually lead to complications such as blindness, nerve damage and kidney damage.
President Biden and Democrats in Congress have been fighting to cap the price of insulin at just $35 a month for insured Americans. New polling finds a bipartisan and overwhelming majority of voters support such a measure. This support includes Republicans by +77 points, Independents by +73 points, and Democrats by +81 points.
We also find a majority of voters — across party lines — support giving Medicare the power to negotiate with companies to lower prescription drug prices. Eighty-three percent of voters support such a proposal; only 8 percent oppose.
These proposals in Congress would greatly serve all Americans in lowering the cost of prescription drug prices and guaranteeing that insured Americans have affordable access to insulin. Congress should work swiftly to pass these proposals — President Biden is waiting to sign them into law. Lawmakers should also act to ease the burden of prescription drug prices on uninsured Americans, who compose a significant portion of those who purchase and can barely afford insulin treatment.
Sabrina Jacobs (@bri_jacobs) is Digital Fellow at Data for Progress
Ahmad Ali (@uhmadali) is Press Secretary at Data for Progress