The House is voting in the Senate to set the price of insulin at $ 35

Congress could soon send a bill to the president’s desk that would limit the cost of the life-saving drug insulin to 35 35 a month – a move that could significantly reduce and control the cost of out-of-pocket medication for millions of American diabetics.

The House approved the bill in a 232-193 vote on Thursday, with 12 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.

The bill is now in the Senate, and could be raised in the upper house in a matter of weeks if a bipartisan agreement is reached.

Experts say it costs less than 10 10 to make it, yet American families still pay hundreds of dollars per bottle of insulin, including insurance.

At present, insulin for patients can cost from $ 334 to $ 1,000 a month, according to a report by the 2020 Kaiser Family Foundation.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.3 million people in the United States have diabetes, which is about 11% of the US population. Of the approximately 40 million people who have diabetes – about 25% or 7.4 million Americans need insulin. Many people with diabetes are given insulin because their body does not make insulin (type 1 diabetes) or does not use insulin properly (type 2 diabetes).

The bill to cap the cost of insulin was originally part of President Joe Biden’s “Build Back Better” domestic policy agenda, but since that huge chunk of legislation is stuck in the Senate, lawmakers decided to move unilaterally to this separate bill specifically addressing insulin. .

House Majority Leader Stanny Hoyer told reporters Wednesday that it was “unforgivable” that people were being charged extra for “life-saving and life-saving drugs that cost more.” [have] Has not increased and the cost of research has been eliminated long ago. “

Dan Kildi, a Democratic Republican from Michigan, one of the authors of the House Bill, said, “It’s objectionable that a drop of insulin can cost up to $ 1,000, when it costs just a few dollars to make a drug.”

According to the text of the bill, the cost-sharing amount for a one-month supply of insulin, starting in 2023, will be lower: $ 35, or 25% of the value of a plan in question. The bill does not lower the overall value of insulin; This will probably transfer more of the cost to insurers and employers.

Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online.