WASHINGTON (AP) – Parliament passed a bill limiting the monthly amount of insulin for insured patients to $ 35, as part of Democrats ’annual campaign to limit prescription drug prices amid rising inflation. .
Experts say the law, passed Thursday 232-193, will provide significant assistance to privately insured patients with multiple plans and to those enrolled in Medicare who are experiencing increased insulin costs from their own pocket. Some can save hundreds of dollars per year, and all insured patients will benefit from unpredictable monthly insulin costs. The bill will not help the policyholder.
But the leverage of available insulin is now a political mechanism to attract Democrats and force opposing Republicans to vote uncomfortably before the mid-term election. To pass the bill in Congress, it must be supported by 10 Republican senators. Democrats admitted they had no answer as to how this would happen.
“If there are 10 Republicans among Americans who can access accessible insulin, that’s a good question for 10 Republicans,” said Dan Dan Kild, a lawmaker who co-sponsored the House bill. “Republicans also have diabetes. Republicans are dying of diabetes ”.
Public opinion polls continue to show support for Congressional actions within the party to limit drug spending.
But Congresswoman Katie McMahor Rogers, R-Wash., Complained that the law is “only a small part of a larger package that addresses prescription drug price controls.” Critics say the bill will raise premiums and not target pharmaceutical intermediaries who contribute to the high list of insulin prices.
Senator Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Democrats could have a prescription drug deal if they stop offering Medicare the right to negotiate prices. “Do Democrats really want to help their leaders if they prefer an electoral problem?” Said Grassley.
The Insulin Act, which will take effect in 2023, is just one provision A package of drugs with a broader prescription in President Joe Biden’s social and climate law.
In addition to a similar $ 35 insulin limit, Biden’s account allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for certain drugs, including insulin. It will penalize drug manufacturers who raise prices faster than inflation and reconsider the benefits of Medicare prescription drugs to limit out-of-pocket costs for members.
Biden’s agenda in the House was only suspended in the Senate because Democrats failed to reach a consensus. Party leaders do not hope that the law will return to force and that drug price restrictions will remain intact.
The idea of limiting the monthly cost of insulin to $ 35 really has a bilateral heritage. The Trump administration has created a voluntary enrollment option with Medicare to get insulin for $ 35, and the Biden administration continues to do so.
In the Senate, Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Jean Shaheen of New Hampshire are working on a bipartisan insulin bill. Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia has filed a bill similar to that in Parliament, supported by a majority of New York senator leader Chuck Sumer.
By criticizing Biden’s economic policies that spurred inflation, Democrats are redoubled their efforts to show how they can help people cope with spending. On Thursday, the Commerce Department said the core inflation rate rose 6.4% in February from a year earlier. The largest increase since January 1982.
But experts say the House bill will not help policyholders faced with higher insulin costs. In addition, people with diabetes often take other medications such as insulin. This is done to treat diabetes itself, along with other serious health conditions that are often associated with the disease. Even House law will not help with these costs. Collins said he is looking for a way to help uninsured people through his account.
Approximately 37 million Americans have diabetes, and approximately 6 million to 7 million use insulin to control their blood sugar. It is an old drug, refined and improved over the years, that has raised prices mercilessly.
The sharp list of prices does not reflect the insurance plan rates negotiated with the manufacturers. But these price lists are used to calculate cost -sharing amounts owed by patients. Patients who fail insulin, reduce or skip doses, an approach born of desperation, which can lead to serious complications and even death.
New York University economist Sherry Glide said the insulin market is a “complete disaster” for many patients, especially those with limited or no insurance plans.
“This will make private insurance a more attractive proposition for people with diabetes,” Glide said.
Source: Huffpost
