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Wednesday, January 23rd, 2019

U.S. insulin costs per patient nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016: study

Author:     Robin Respaut and Chad Terhune
Source:     reuters
Publication Date:     JANUARY 22, 2019 / 3:08 AM
 Link: U.S. insulin costs per patient nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016: study
Stephan:   Yet another example, if such were needed, that we do not have a healthcare system in the United States, we have an illness profit system. You, your family, your parents, your kids, are just little cows to be milked of cash. Your wellbeing is not a priority. In fact, it's more profitable for this system if you are sick, and chronic illness is best of all because it goes on for a long time. What regularly amazes me these days is how docile Americans are. As long as we have our little shiny things to distract us we stand out in the fields of our lives chewing our cuds, like the Angus I used to breed that stood in my family's fields.

A person with type 1 diabetes incurred annual insulin costs of $5,705, on average, in 2016. The average cost was roughly half that at $2,864 per patient in 2012, according to a report due to be released on Tuesday by the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute (HCCI).

The figures represent the combined amount paid by a patient and their health plan for the medicine and do not reflect rebates paid at a later date.

The increasing cost of insulin has led some patients to put their own health at risk.

In recent months, anecdotal stories have cropped up from family members and patients describing the rationing of the life-saving medication because they could not afford out-of-pocket expenses for insulin. That has also led to some protests outside company headquarters of insulin makers.

HCCI said the jump in spending was driven primarily by higher insulin prices overall and, to a lesser extent, a shift toward more expensive insulin products. Average daily insulin use rose only 3 percent over the same five-year period, the report found.

“It’s not that individuals are using more insulin or that […]

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