How Much Does Medicare Spend on Insulin?

(By Juliette Cubanski, Tricia Neuman, Sarah True, and Anthony Damico for Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

The rising cost of prescription drugs is currently a major focus for policymakers. One medication that has come under increasing scrutiny over its price increases is insulin, used by people with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes to control blood glucose levels. Among people with Medicare, one third (33%) had diabetes in 2016, up from 18% in 2000. The rate of diabetes is higher among certain groups, including more than 40% of black and Hispanic beneficiaries. Although not all people with diabetes take insulin, for many it is a life-saving medication and essential to maintaining good health. Three companies—Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi—manufacture most insulin products, and there are no generic insulin products currently available, despite the fact that insulin was discovered in the 1920s. Committees in both the House and the Senate recently convened hearings on prescription drug costs that focused on rising insulin prices and affordability concerns for patients, and congressional investigations are underway.  Continue reading study findings here…

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