NJ Families Bash 'Unethical' Insulin Prices, Plead For $35 Cap

NEW JERSEY — Nearly 10 percent of New Jerseyans live with diabetes. For most of them, the monthly insulin costs can range between $200 and $600. Some pay much more. And it can be heartbreaking for a family when they can’t afford the medicine it takes to keep their loved one alive.

Just ask Lisa Clarke.

Clarke is the mother of Connor, 10, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2013. A volunteer with Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Clarke is one of many advocates pushing for a proposed federal law that would force insurers to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month.

“No one should suffer because they cannot afford the medication that keeps them alive,” she said at a Friday news conference at the Newark Community Health Center (watch the video below).

Clarke said that as the mother of a child with Type 1 Diabetes, her family has experienced the backbreaking burden that comes with high insulin prices.

“A monthly insulin cap of $35 would improve access to this lifesaving medication and help millions of Americans,” urged Clarke, a Cedar Knolls resident.

That salvation could possibly come in the form of the Affordable Insulin Now Act. Led in the Senate by Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, the bill has picked up support from a roster of Democratic lawmakers in New Jersey, including Sen. Robert Menendez and Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of the 10th District – who has personal experience with insulin costs.

“As a diabetic, I understand the problems with high insulin prices firsthand,” Payne said. “We must do everything we can to lower them for the 37 million Americans with diabetes.”

Three years ago, the congressman issued a statement about the rising costs of medical treatment in the U.S. after he underwent treatment for complications relating to diabetes.

“I recognize that I'm one of the lucky Americans who has good health coverage through their employment,” Payne wrote. “Working for New Jersey's 10th Congressional District is a privilege and honor I don't take lightly.”

But almost one in five adults in the United States aren’t as lucky, he added. Read More: Rep. Payne Of NJ Has Personal Link To Drug Costs Bill – Diabetes

Menendez, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that sets national health policy, announced that he’s signed on as a co-sponsor of the Affordable Insulin Now Act.

“Despite the historic progress we made with the Affordable Care Act, everyone recognizes that health care costs in America are still far too high,” Menendez said. “Perhaps no one understands that more than families and individuals living with diabetes who struggle to afford their monthly insulin and diabetic supplies.”

“Unfortunately, for many New Jerseyans, the cost of insulin, which helps keep their diabetes under control, is simply not affordable,” the senator added. “The Affordable Insulin Now Act is one important step in addressing the soaring costs of health care that squeeze our working families.”

• See related article: Meet 10 NJ Families Who Had To Crowdfund For Health Care

It isn’t just Democrats who want change when it comes to high drug prices. Two years before President Joe Biden blasted the cost of insulin in his state of the union address, his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump, took aim at the problem by supporting legislation that cut out-of-pocket costs for seniors on Medicare.

Separate efforts to combat the high price of insulin are taking place on the state level, where a proposed New Jersey law would cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin, EpiPens and asthma inhalers for those covered by state-regulated health plans, the State Health Benefits plan or the School Employee Health Benefits plan. Insulin costs would be capped at $35 for a 30-day supply, EpiPens at $25, and asthma inhalers capped at $50.

• See related article: NJ Lawmakers Aim To Cap Costs Of Lifesaving Medications

‘UNETHICALLY HIGH’

Kim McCoy, who lives in Middlesex, is another New Jersey mother who worries about paying for the high cost of insulin.

Her 7-year-old son, Payton, who lives with Type 1 diabetes, goes through about three vials of insulin per month. The retail price? About $974.89, McCoy said.

Speaking during Friday’s news conference, McCoy said she fears for her son’s future and worries about how he’ll be able to afford his insulin when he gets older.

“A person with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every single day or they will die,” McCoy said. “There’s no lifestyle change that will change this. If rising drug costs are not addressed now, what will these costs be when my son is in high school?”

Arianna Gehan, a biomedical engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, said the federal bill would be a game-changer if it passes.

Since being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 11, Gehan been an ardent advocate within the diabetes community. And today’s high prices of insulin aren’t what its creators envisioned, she pointed out.

“When insulin was first discovered, the researchers sold the patent for only $1 so it could be affordable to everyone,” Gehan said. “It is sad that today so many people are unable to access insulin because prices are unnecessarily and unethically high.”

Send news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

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