Sandy Springs, GA — Today, Representative Lucy McBath’s law that caps insulin costs at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare goes into effect. 40 million Americans live with diabetes and 1 in 4 diabetic patients ration or skip insulin doses due to the exorbitant costs. The law will help make a drug that has been around for 100 years, and that many diabetics need every day, more affordable for the seniors who need it.  

“Insulin is now $35 a month for our seniors on Medicare. Costs for a drug that has been around for a century have been far too high for far too long,” said McBath. “And with the signing of my bill last year, I am so proud that beginning today, seniors who need insulin to live will have access at an affordable price.”

In 1920, before insulin was discovered, it would have been exceptional for diabetic patients to live longer than a year or two. 100 years later, some estimates state that diabetics spend nearly $6,000 a year on insulin alone. Analysis from the American Diabetes Association asserts that care for diagnosed diabetic patients accounts for one out of every four dollars spent on healthcare in the United States, and from 2012 to 2016, insulin prices doubled. In the last year, 100,000 Americans have died from diabetes, an increase of 15 percent from pre-COVID-19 levels.