As a new survey published Tuesday showed overwhelming support among American voters for capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month, progressive U.S. lawmakers underscored what they insisted is the Senate's imperative to include a provision allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices in its version of the Build Back Better budget reconciliation bill.
The Data for Progress poll found that 87% of all respondentsincluding 94% of self-described Democrats, 84% of Independents, and 82% of Republicans"strongly" or "somewhat" favor the insulin price cap.
Writing for Data for Progress, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) noted that the House version of the Build Back Better Act, which was passed last week, "will allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain pharmaceuticals, including insulin."
"It also creates a cap so that no one pays more than $35 per month for insulin," he continued. "Let me say that again: House Democrats just passed a cap on the price of insulin at $35 per monthand now it's time for the Senate to get it done."
"American families currently pay thousands of dollars a year for their insulin, far more than any other nation," said Wyden, "even though its estimated cost of manufacturing is just $2.28 to $6.34 per vial, the sticker price for a single vial of insulin is $300. That's hundreds of dollars a month out of the pockets of millions of families in Oregon and families across the country for a drug that's been around for decades due to the uncontrolled greed of the pharmaceutical industry."
"The effects are disastrous," he added. "For instance, one quarter of Americans with Type 1 diabetes ration their insulin due to its exorbitant costs. By capping the price of insulin at $35 per month, the Build Back Better Act can help millions of Americans get the insulin they need at a price they can afford."
Senate Budget Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tweeted Tuesday that "insulin should not cost 10 times as much in the United States as it does in Canada. Period."
