Democrats have lowered insulin prices for seniors and want to lower prescription drug prices for everyone. Republicans are blocking.

Aug 11, 20243 min read

Updated: Oct 10, 2024

Mindy’s Story, Pay or Die:

Mindy Salango is a Type 1 diabetic. A divorce left her and her young daughter with poor health insurance, and without access to affordable, life-saving insulin. Like so many West Virginians she's had to make tough choices like how to take care of her child or ration her insulin. Her experience led her to be a fierce advocate for affordable prescription drugs.

Watch video of Mindy testifying to the United States Congress about her struggle:

Diabetics may have a 24 - 48 HOUR life expectancy without insulin.
After the pandemic, about half of diabetics in the U.S. had to ration their insulin due to cost.
Rationing insulin risks kidney failure, heart disease, amputation, blindness, and death.

Democrats have delivered on lowering drug costs with a new prescription drug law that went into effect January 1, 2023, saving money for people with Medicare:

If you have drug costs high enough to reach the catastrophic coverage phase in your Medicare drug coverage, you won’t have to pay a copayment or coinsurance, starting in 2024.

Extra Help affording prescription drug coverage (the Part D Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) program) will expand to cover more drug costs for people with limited resources who earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level, starting in 2024. People who qualify for Extra Help generally will pay no more than $4.50 for each generic drug and $11.20 for each brand-name drug.
Your yearly Part D out-of-pocket costs
will be capped at $2,000, starting in 2025. You’ll also have the option to pay out-of-pocket costs in monthly amounts over the plan year, instead of when they happen.

In 2024 The Biden-Harris Administration negotiated agreements for new, lower prices for 10 of the most expensive and most frequently dispensed drugs covered by Medicare (begins 2026).
In 2020, Democrats in the West Virginia legislature wrote a bill that guaranteed a $100 insulin copay cap for those with state insurance.

In 2023, President Biden, Vice President Harris and Democrats in Congress capped the insulin copay for seniors at $35. Democrats wanted this to include private insurance, but Republicans sided with insurance companies to block the cap.

Due to enormous public pressure, by January 2024, the three major insulin manufacturers lowered their costs per month to under $100 for nearly all patients.

How you can help:

Vote for Democratic candidates who will fight for you. Educate your family and friends.
Read how the WV Democratic Party platform supports the physical, mental, and social health of all West Virginians.