Senator Collins Praises Growing Senate Support for INSULIN Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Susan Collins today praised the announcement of four new cosponsors for the bipartisan Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act. With Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) now supporting the bill, the legislation has 22 cosponsors.

The INSULIN Act, introduced by Senator Collins with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and John Kennedy (R-LA), would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Americans with private and employer-sponsored insurance. It would also create a pilot program to make insulin available at the same cost to uninsured Americans, removing barriers to care and expanding access for millions of patients.

“Tens of millions of Americans rely on insulin as part of their daily treatment, and for many, it is literally a matter of life and death. I have heard far too many stories from people in Maine and across the country who have been forced to ration their insulin because of the cost, and that is simply unacceptable,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan legislation would cap the cost of insulin at $35 and address underlying issues in the insulin market so that more patients—both insured and uninsured—can afford the medication they need. I am pleased to see growing support for this bill, which reflects a shared commitment to lowering costs and ensuring that no American is forced to go without lifesaving insulin.”

The INSULIN Act would directly address the root problems in the insulin market causing high list prices, while simultaneously extending vital patient protections, fostering competition, and broadening access to needed insulin products.

Specifically, the INSULIN Act:

1. Limits out-of-pocket costs for patients with diabetes by ensuring that group and individual market health plans must waive any deductible and limit cost-sharing to no more than $35 or 25% of list price per month for at least one insulin of each type and dosage form;
2. Mandates pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) pass through 100% of insulin rebates and other discounts received from manufacturers to plan sponsors, reducing incentives in the insulin market that encourage high list prices, thereby helping patients through reduced premiums;
3. Promotes generic and biosimilar competition to lower costs to patients;
4. Creates a pilot grant program for 10 states to implement programs to identify people with diabetes who are uninsured and provide them with insulin at $35 per month; and
5. Establishes an insulin resource center and hotline for people with diabetes who are uninsured to connect them with resources about diabetes and programs to help them secure insulin.

The bipartisan INSULIN Act is supported by the American Diabetes Association, Breakthrough T1D, and the Endocrine Society.

Click here to read the complete text of the legislation.

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