WASHINGTON — Advocates and some lawmakers are hoping to add provisions for the uninsured to a Senate bill that would cap insulin copays for some insured patients — and to do so before the chamber votes on the measure, possibly this month.
The critics endorse the $35-per-month cap on insulin copays for Medicare beneficiaries and the privately insured that’s in the Senate bill but think Congress has a chance to do more for the uninsured, who pay as much as $1,288 out of pocket for insulin products each year. The House passed a bill last week that has the same cap on copays.
Both advocates and some lawmakers think legislation is needed to bring down the price of insulin from the manufacturer, calling the lack of such a provision a shortcoming in the bills, sponsored by Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., and Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga. Some are even hoping they can bring down other drug prices.
