There are roughly 37.3 million people in the United States with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 7 million of them need to take insulin daily in order to live.
14% of the 7 million Americans who require daily insulin are challenged with "catastrophic" levels of spending on the medication, according to a Yale study published in Health Affairs on July 5.
That means they spend at least 40% of their income on insulin after paying for essentials like food and housing.
The Yale study looked at the latest data from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, which covered 2017 to 2018, and "found that nearly one in seven people who filled an insulin prescription in the U.S. experienced catastrophic spending on insulin during that time."
Baylee Bakkila, a medical student at Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study, added that the "catastrophic" spending is just on insulin, meaning it doesn't include glucose monitors, insulin pumps, and other medications.
Krutika Amin, associate director of the Affordable Care Act program at the nonprofit the Kaiser Family Foundation, told NBC News that some diabetics "will ration or skip doses of their medication" so they can save money.
However, that plan often backfires, as Amin said that people who ration or skip doses usually end up paying more due to hospital or emergency room visits.
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Dr. Kevin Riggs, a physician at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine, explained that the high prices of insulin are because of an "evergreening" process in which drug manufacturers "make incremental improvements" to extend the life of patents, which discourages generic drugs from being produced. Therefore, the drug companies can charge whatever they'd like for the medication.
"And so that means those prices have gone up crazy," Riggs told NBC News.
Depending if you have insurance or not, the yearly cost for insulin could be more than $6,000.
"Since diabetics typically use two or three vials of insulin per month, costs can reach more than $6,000 annually for people with no insurance, inadequate coverage or high deductibles," according to The Washington Post. "Some of the list prices for the drug can range from $125 to more than $500."
"Humalog, a branded insulin drug that cost about $21 per vial when Eli Lilly introduced it in 1996, listed at the end of last year at about $275 in the United States."
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In April, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month. Additionally, the nonprofit drugmaker Civica Rx said in March that they "planned to make and sell generic versions of insulin to consumers at no more than $30 per vial and no more than $55 for a box of five pen cartridges," per NBC News.
Earlier this month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the state will start to make its own insulin to fight the rising prices of the medication.
"California is going to make its own insulin," Newsom said in a tweeted video. "Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin. Many Americans experience out-of-pocket costs anywhere from $300 to $500 per month for this lifesaving drug.
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"California is now taking matters into our own hands. The budget I just signed sets aside $100 million so we can contract and make our own insulin at a cheaper price, close to at cost, and to make it available to all."
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