Nevada coalition seeks unprecedented insulin refund law
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camtosh
Posts: 898 Member
Not sure what to make of this....
Nevada coalition seeks unprecedented insulin refund law
Aiming to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, an unlikely Nevada coalition is trying to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices — and issue refunds to diabetics or their insurance companies if annual price hikes surpass inflation.
Las Vegas casino owners have banded together with their employees' unions of cooks, servers and other resort workers to support the unprecedented legislation in their effort to control their own medical insurance costs.
The bill expected to face its first vote in early May would attempt to cap how much employers, insurers and corporate middle men pay for insulin, which is injected to manage blood sugar levels. Lawmakers also hope the bill would cap what diabetics pay out of their own pockets near their current cost levels — typically between $50 and $600 per month, depending on diabetics' insurance coverage.
https://apnews.com/9ee61ba9d8b343bbbf3b40ce8fe1b62a
Nevada coalition seeks unprecedented insulin refund law
Aiming to rein in soaring prescription drug prices, an unlikely Nevada coalition is trying to force pharmaceutical companies to disclose how they set insulin prices — and issue refunds to diabetics or their insurance companies if annual price hikes surpass inflation.
Las Vegas casino owners have banded together with their employees' unions of cooks, servers and other resort workers to support the unprecedented legislation in their effort to control their own medical insurance costs.
The bill expected to face its first vote in early May would attempt to cap how much employers, insurers and corporate middle men pay for insulin, which is injected to manage blood sugar levels. Lawmakers also hope the bill would cap what diabetics pay out of their own pockets near their current cost levels — typically between $50 and $600 per month, depending on diabetics' insurance coverage.
https://apnews.com/9ee61ba9d8b343bbbf3b40ce8fe1b62a
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Ty for sharing @camtosh. Just curious...how much does it cost for insulin in USA or Canada or UK? or other countries. Anyone T2D wanna share about diabetes related costs?
The article is interesting. One patient says the bottle of insulin for one month he paid 11 dollars, now costs 75! Sounds like insulin is becoming the new cash cow along statins.
The article reflects that the question of who is going to pay for the costs of T2D is going to be a game of musical chairs. And it's going to be a matter of bankruptcy for any government who currently pays for the increased costs.0 -
The cost to our NHS (National Health Service) for Diabetic medication in the UK is almost beyond belief...The cost of diabetes to the NHS is over £1.5m an hour or 10% of the NHS budget for England and Wales. This equates to over £25,000 being spent on diabetes every minute.
In total, an estimated £14 billion pounds is spent a year on treating diabetes and its complications, with the cost of treating complications representing the much higher cost.
The NHS is a 'free' service paid for by the public, through National Insurance contributions, taken at issue of salary.
Those who are disabled, or unemployed, are supported by those who are charged National Insurance.
Source: http://www.diabetes.co.uk/cost-of-diabetes.html1 -
Somewhere I ran across an article about the way our Big Pharma Mafia tots up its costs. One line item was for the amount of money a company could have earned elsewhere with the funds it spent to make its products. This in ECON 101 is called opportunity cost. It's supposed to be a decision factor ("What return will be lost by pursuing Option A versus Option B?")
Accounting for it as an actual monetary outlay is pretty much like demanding that a prospective employer pay you an extra $95,000 a year because that's what another company would have paid you. Try that argument and see how far it gets you. But then you and I don't have friends in high places.0 -
My Metformin is $7.48 for 180 tablets,
my Levemir is $1,125 for 30 pens. ($2,832 cash price)
$4529 a year, then add at least 4 test strips a day
Lancets & a pen needle for each injection.
$50 an Endo visit x 4
$10 Lab fee x 4
Puts a dent in my SS money
or 
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I got this email from JDRF this morning
"Dear JDRF Supporter,
This week, the U.S. House of Representatives is considering a new health reform law that could lead to higher, unaffordable insurance rates for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D).
Specifically, it would give states the option to allow insurance companies—once again—to charge higher premiums based on an individual’s pre-existing conditions, such as T1D. This new bill would allow people with pre-existing conditions like T1D to be excluded from regular insurance plans and sent to “high-risk insurance pools” that charge premiums that are 150 to 200 percent higher than what is charged for typical coverage. These proposals violate the principles for health reform JDRF established in January 2017, which include preserving protections for those with pre-existing conditions. For many years, the T1D community had to battle with insurers that were allowed to deny coverage or charge significantly more to cover people with pre-existing conditions and we want to make sure our community does not have these same battles in the future.
Make your voice count! Click here to let your Member of Congress know that people with T1D should not pay more for their health insurance and that they must oppose the amended American Health Care Act (AHCA).
If we speak with One Voice, we can ensure people with T1D have access to the healthcare they need.
In the meantime, we will continue to work with lawmakers across the political spectrum to craft a healthcare bill that works for everyone—including the T1D community — and to advance all aspects of the JDRF advocacy agenda."
This is of course addressing T1D specifically, but it's about potentially losing protection for pre-existing conditions. If everyone in the US could contact their congressman, maybe it would prevent losing this protection.
Here's the link from the JDRF site to contact your congressman. Maybe there is a similar one at the ADA if you don't want to specify T1D.
https://www2.jdrf.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=472&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTnpBM00yUmlNMlJtT0RsbSIsInQiOiJXUUdZQU4rdnM4VnVDRTZvYzRGN0xXXC9iSmNxcU4wN2hMdGZhZEZRcEQ2Vm5VT0diMFF2V2FlN1k5eG5QVHdXcjBFRnZxYVNxUVZvSlE2WTNxR3BcLzJQK24zTHNEbFZ6VzVtaERQc0NNaTNRVXVTVFZ5U25tcTBXeXJzU0RUZDBVIn0=0 -
Mom's Metformin 500 mg is $3.51 for the month.
Canadian Senior.0 -
I pay $30.81 for 500 XR Glucophage, 30 pills - and that is with pretty good insurance here in the US. According to my pharmacy information, the retail price is $47.19 for 30 pills of 500 XR. I can only imagine what the price was for twice that. My current prescription was to have gone up to taking the medication twice per day. I couldn't afford the $59 co-pay. My doctor is currently appealing, since I have devastating side effects with the generic formulary. If the appeal is processed, regardless of dose or frequency, my copay should be reduced to $25 per month.
So yeah, even the way insurance companies are allowed to bill WITHIN insurance coverages prevents me from currently taking the dosage I'm prescribed. SMDH
Since I'm only in the "PRE" Diabetic phase, I don't have any other medications, but I signed the petition, and sent it to my rep. It's insane to more or less impose a death sentence on those in poverty level income zones because of not allowing for insurance coverage and maintenance of conditions THESE PEOPLE NEVER HAD A CHANCE AT AVOIDING, due to genetic/birth conditions. It makes me so angry I can't see straight.1 -
They were talking about this on the world news last night. One poor type 1 has to pay $250 a month for insulin. Or die. I work with health insurance and have long since said that reform needs to start at the insurance company level. I could go on and on about that, lol.2
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I did get an auto-response message from my Congressman. I'll let y'all know if I actually get another real response.1
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Well here's a crazy one for ya!
My daughters Apidra (fast acting insulin) was always a $50 co pay for 3 100 unit vials which at one time was only a couple weeks supply. Yesterday she went to pick it up for the first time this year because we had a little stock pile since low carb makes it last like 3 times as long now.
Insurance now charges a different rate for brand names. It was $138. At one point that would've only lasted a few weeks!
Here's the crazy part. I called to see about picking up just 1 vial for now because that'll last her about 2 weeks. That had $0 copay... uhhh. Ok. Not complaining. But super confused.
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You know... I'm realizing that actually there was a time when she was so insulin resistant and eating SAD that she was actually using over 100 units a day. I completely forgot that!3
