Insulin Legislation Gains Bipartisan Support
Bipartisan legislation aiming to cap insulin costs at $35 a month for people with private insurance is gaining traction in Congress. The bill, introduced in March, recently secured four additional co-sponsors: Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). It now has 22 bipartisan co-sponsors, reflecting Congress’s efforts to address affordability challenges.
An April poll by KFF indicated that healthcare costs are a primary concern for Americans. The bill was originally introduced in 2023 with 13 co-sponsors, including seven Republicans, but it stalled in committee. The new version was crafted by Democratic Senators Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), and Republicans Susan Collins (Maine) and John Kennedy (La.). It aims to broaden the existing $35 cap for Medicare patients, enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act, to individual plans sold on the ObamaCare marketplaces and commercial plans.
The bill also proposes a pilot grant program to enable 10 states to offer insulin to uninsured diabetes patients for $35 monthly. The legislation would require group and individual market health plans to waive any deductibles and limit cost-sharing to $35 or 25% of the list price monthly for one insulin of each type and dosage form.
The bill’s proponents hope to attach it to year-end must-pass legislation, including several healthcare program extensions.
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