Few issues within America’s dysfunctional health care system are more pressing than the astronomical price of insulin — access to which is, for millions of Americans, literally a matter of life or death. Congress is finally moving toward approving legislation that would partially address the problem. But passage will rely on the willingness of some hesitant Republicans, including Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, to set aside their free market absolutism and acknowledge that the apparent price-gouging going isn’t what markets are supposed to do.
Almost 2 million Americans have Type 1 diabetes, which typically requires daily insulin shots. More than 30 million more have Type 2 diabetes, which often requires insulin therapy.
In the past decade alone, the cost of that lifesaving insulin has tripled. Today, even insured patients, depending on the terms of their policies, can end up paying $300 or more monthly for their insulin, while uninsured patients can face monthly costs of well over $1,000. The situation has spawned horror stories of diabetics self-rationing with less insulin than they’re supposed to take, with sometimes tragic outcomes.
