New Report Shows Price of Insulin Doubled From 2012 to 2016

In October, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed a lawsuit against three of the biggest insulin manufacturers over price gouging claims. In the lawsuit, Swanson said Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk “deceptively raise the list price of insulin” and that the hikes have made the life-saving medication “less affordable.”

One month later, in November, the American Diabetes Association published recommendations and public policy solutions to address the problem of affordable insulin. The ADA’s call-to-action was based on data that showed the average price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013. In 2017, the ADA said that diabetes, including both Type 1 and Type 2, was the most expensive chronic illness in the U.S. The disease has a total cost of more than $327 billion per year including $15 billion for insulin, the ADA said.
The argument from the advocacy group has additional weight this morning after a cost analysis for insulin was released by the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute that showed the price of insulin doubled between 2012 and 2016. The HCCI analysis, as reported by Reuters, noted that an individual with Type 1 diabetes paid on average $2,864 for insulin in 2012. Four years later, in 2016, the annual average cost of insulin jumped to $5,705. Those average costs represent the combined amount paid by a patient and health plan provider for the insulin. It does not reflect any rebates that may have been paid later, Reuters said.