It’s time to cap insulin costs for everyone

Iapplaud President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress for capping insulin costs at $35 per month for those on Medicare. This is saving millions of Americans hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year on health care.

But diabetes doesn’t just affect those on Medicare. More than 200,000 young people have Type 1 diabetes and need insulin to save their lives, including my 7-year-old daughter, Bunny.

Being able to afford insulin is truly a matter of life and death for Bunny — if she doesn’t take it, she will die.

Bunny was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when she nearly fell into a diabetic coma at just 5 years old. Since her diagnosis, she is still the exuberant Bunny that brings joy to everyone who knows her, but we’ve had to make serious — and costly — changes in our lives to manage Bunny’s diabetes.

And I must make sure Bunny has insulin everywhere she goes — her grandma’s house, her aunt’s house and at school. I’ve bought special storage containers so she is able to take her insulin with her to play at a friend’s house or while we are out running errands.

Then, there are all the other costs that come with managing Type 1 diabetes — testing strips, doctor’s visits, insulin pumps, emergency kits, special snacks, and the list goes on. Even relatively inexpensive items add up when managing diabetes. I had no idea how many cotton balls and alcohol pads I would go through when Bunny was first diagnosed.

Capping insulin costs at $35 per month for everyone — not just those on Medicare — would put more money in my pocket, and it’s time for Congress to get it done for families like mine.

Insulin is not a new drug and only costs $10 a bottle to make, but drug companies charge people who need it to survive hundreds of dollars. Last year, Republicans in Congress blocked a provision that would have extended the cap to people with private insurance — putting Big Pharma’s profits over real people. Enough is enough.

Luckily, Nevada’s senators and members of Congress have been leaders in taking on Big Pharma. Let’s get the job done.