Florida lawmakers look to hold down insulin costs
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NEWS SERVICE FLORIDA) - Two state lawmakers don’t want insured diabetics to pay more than $100 a month in out-of-pocket costs for insulin.
Sen. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, and Rep. Nicholas Duran, D-Miami, have filed bills (HB 109 and SB 116) that would require individual and group health-insurance policies and health maintenance organizations to cap customers’ monthly cost-sharing obligations for insulin prescriptions.
“There is no reason we should allow people to be held hostage to a price increase that’s out of control, and we should not allow Floridians to be forced to scramble for solutions to afford a prescription they need to live,” Cruz said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported in January that insulin prices in the United States have tripled and out-of-pocket costs per prescription have doubled.
Moreover, the report said the trend of increased costs can lead to patients not adhering to directions to take insulin, a life-saving drug for diabetics.
The bills are filed for consideration during the 2020 legislative session, which starts Jan. 14.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.