Containing the rising cost of insulin: select policy recommendations
- Author:
Titus MARY
1
;
Lizheng SHI
Author Information
1. Department of Health Policy and Management
- Keywords:
Insulin;
Insulin costs;
Insulin policy;
Drug prices;
Diabetes
- From:
Global Health Journal
2019;3(4):84-88
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects over 30 million people in the United States.Of these,approximately 7.4 million use one or more formulations of insulin to manage their condition.There is a significant financial burden on diabetic individuals,as the price of insulin keeps increasing each year.Such consistent and drastic increases in the price of insulin are due to the complexities in the insulin supply chain,pricing mechanisms particularly due to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs),and the dominance of a few insulin manufacturers in the market.This policy analysis has been undertaken independently and is based on information from peer-reviewed journals,government organizations and agencies,and credible news sources.Politicians and various stakeholders in the supply chain have made several policy recommendations on the pricing of insulin.From the data and information collected,we suggest basing a patient's co-payment on the net price instead of the list price of insulin,and that there should be real-time transparency in the negotiations between PBMs and pharmaceutical companies on rebates.
