Insulin cost cap bill announced in Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Democrat Monongalia County Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer and Republican Delegate Jordan Hill and Chair of the House Health and Human Resources Committee from Nicholas County held press conference to announce support for a law that caps costs for life-saving insulin to $25 for a 30-day supply, regardless of the amount or type of insulin prescribed, to protect patients from rising insulin costs.

The Monday news conference included people sharing their personal stories about how the high cost of insulin and increasing co-payments required to get the drug.

“It varies depends on what kind of insurance you have,”Fleischauer said,”But, these people pay hundreds per month and we want to put a cap on that, they have a cap in Colorado, they have a cap Illinois and we want to be the third state to do that.”

Jamie Salai is a Morgantown resident and has a boyfriend with Type I diabetes and attended the event.

“I knew they were high, but I wasn’t sure how high they were,”Salai said,”And hearing all these stories about how high they are, something has to be done.”

“One gentleman we talked to from Greenbrier County, his co-pay when he was 41 was $78, now it’s $647 per month,”Fleischauer said,”And that’s not his premium. who knows what his premium is.”

Fleischauer says adding up the cost of test strips, pumps, needles and drugs it’s very expensive to be a diabetic and this is way to relieve some of that burden on people.