Diabetic VA Man's Death Highlights Need For Cheaper Insulin

LEESBURG, VA — Josh Wilkerson of Leesburg has dealt with type 1 diabetes for years. Tragically, because of the high cost of prescription medication, the 27-year-old's battle is over all too soon. Wilkerson died, alone, while asleep in the living quarters above the dog kennel where he worked. He had experienced a series of fatal strokes after switching to over-the-counter insulin that apparently failed to control his blood sugar.

He had been able to afford the lifesaving prescription-strength insulin while on his stepfather's health insurance plan. But when he turned 26 and was no longer eligible to be on the plan, he couldn't afford his brand name insulin any longer. Just a few hours after taking a dose of the lower-grade insulin, Wilkerson lapsed into a diabetic coma with a blood sugar level 17 times higher than what it should have been, reported The Washington Post.

Over-the-counter insulin sells for $25 a vial at Walmart, which is one-tenth of what the more effective version costs. Walmart's ReliOn brand, known as human insulin, can take up to four hours to begin working. The more expensive traditional analogue insulin takes as little as 20 minutes to regulate blood sugar levels.

There have been reports nationwide of people dying after they rationed out their expensive prescriptions. They've created GoFundMe pages to help cover their costs or head out of the country to find cheaper medication.

The Trump Administration announced last week that it is working toward allowing states to import lower-priced medication from Canada, which could include insulin.

Read the full story on The Washington Post website.