ADVOCACY FOR INSULIN
ACCESSIBILITY
DIABETES IN THE UNITED STATES
Diabetes is a chronic condition that affects the way the body converts food to energy. After food is consumed, it is broken down into a sugar, called glucose, which is released into the bloodstream. When glucose levels rise in the blood, the body releases insulin to let glucose out of the blood and into cells to be used as energy. The over 37 million Americans with diabetes, though, have problems releasing insulin, whether they don't produce enough [Type 1] or cannot make it well [Type 2] (CDC, 2021, paras. 1-2).
With this, the 5-10% of those with Type 1 diabetes and many with Type 2 are required to take insulin to survive. As diabetes is the 7th leading cause of death in the United States, insulin plays a major role in preventing severe complications, like kidney failure, heart disease, and amputations, and consequently mortality caused by the excess glucose in the bloodstream (CDC, 2021, para. 5). Therefore, insulin is a great necessity for those with diabetes.
FIGURE 1: RISING INSULIN PRICES
THE COST OF INSULIN
Humalog
The price of insulin, however, has dramatically risen in the past years. As seen in Figure 1, the list price of the two most common types of insulin, Humalog and Novolog, has nearly tripled in the past decade, seeing a 290% increase (Pflanzer, 2017,para. 8). Even with insurance, individuals are paying extreme amounts for this life-saving medication. On average, the over 8 million Americans that use insulin pay $6,000 a year for the medication (Hayes & Farmer, 2020, para. 10).
$250
$200
$150
$100
$50
90.0 80 Jul'10 Jul'12 Jul14 Jul16 Source: Truven Health Analytics via Bloomberg
FIGURE2:COUNTRY COMPARISON OF PRICES
United States
To put this cost into greater context,Figure
Japan
2 shows how inconsistent America's insulin prices are with other countries. Data from the RAND Corporation has shown that in 2018, the average price per standard unit of insulin in the United States was $98.70 whereas in other countries like Germany and Australia, insulin costed $11 and $6.94 per unit, respectively (Statista, 2020)
Canada Germany France
United Kingdom
Australia
Turkey $0 $25 Source: Statista
$50
$75
$100
ACCESSIBILITY OF INSULIN
With the cost of insulin steadily increasing, individuals with varying backgrounds are unable to get access to the insulin they need to survive. For example, of those with diabetes, nearly 20% of African Americans, 14% of Caucasians, and 17% of Hispanics use insulin, as well as do 24% of those with diabetes that earn below the poverty level (Cefalu et al., 2018, p. 1300). Even more so, the several individuals without health insurance can pay amounts well over $1000 per month for their insulin (Zelitt, 2021, p. 454). This has caused diabetics to lean towards greatly unhealthy measures, like rationing their insulin or not using it at all, both of which could be detrimental to their health.
This insulin rationing has only been intensified by COVID-19, with fewer individuals being able to
afford o