More Americans with diabetes will get a break on their insulin costs in 2024.

Sanofi is joining the nation’s two other major insulin manufacturers in offering either price caps or savings programs that lower the cost of the drugs to $35 for many patients. The three drugmakers are also drastically lowering the list prices for their products.

The moves were announced in the spring, but some didn’t take effect until January 1.

Drugmakers have come under fire for years for steeply raising the price of insulin, which is relatively inexpensive to produce. The inflation-adjusted cost of the medication has increased 24% between 2017 and 2022, and spending on insulin has tripled in the past decade to $22.3 billion in 2022, according to the American Diabetes Association.

Some 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive, and as many as 1 in 4 patients have been unable to afford their medicine, leading them to ration doses – sometimes with fatal ramifications, according to the association.

    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      and republicans act like is the most horrific, obscene, unfathomably evil thing that ever existed, the mere notion that the poors can afford healthcare.

      but then again, they are also a bunch of fucking pedophile baby fuckers that want to block the epstein list from going public because it personally incriminates them.

  • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    I remember Trump saying he was going to do this during his presidency and my parents who are trump fans are like “well Biden didn’t do this, Trump got it started and he took the credit”. Which I don’t believe for a second. So what exactly happened to Trump’s original plan? I assume it only benefited the rich or something like all his plans and Biden scrapped it to replace it with something better?

      • gAlienLifeform@lemmy.world
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        2 years ago

        The whole argument is absurd because neither one did anything, the companies themselves did this voluntarily and can switch it back at any time because there’s no federal statute or regulation to stop them

        • ReluctantMuskrat@lemmy.world
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          2 years ago

          You didn’t read the article did you?

          They cite multiple factors but the largest seems to be a change to the way Medicare rebates are paid. Starting Jan 1st, this move allows them to pay less rebates to Medicare based on how they’re calculated and will save the companies millions. So yes… it’s actually directly based on the Biden administration changes.

  • BobGnarley@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    Fucking go after the predatory practices of the private insurance companies and make actual change. This rebate shit thats making this happen will be overturned as soon as the only other party that ever wins gets in there. Seriously, its all so fucking exhatusting nothing actually changes ever.

  • beebarfbadger@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Won’t SOMEBODY think of the poor, poor price gaugers?

    The best thing about lemmy is that one almost doesn’t even need a /s here.

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    2 years ago

    The price gouging should never have been allowed to happen but I’m glad shit’s being done about it.

  • Captain Howdy@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    I’m curious as to why these companies are doing this. The article isn’t clear. It does mention “public pressure” but that’s never really stopped a company, especially if they are making crazy profits, from continuing to make those profits. Big pharma doesn’t just stop over charging out of the goodness of their hearts.

    Is there some new regulation or foreign competitor behind this?

    • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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      2 years ago

      It does require time, effort and resources to manufacture, and on top of that there’s a regulatory system for quality checking so that nobody gets poisoned by a faulty batch, which is more time, effort and resources.

      Some cost is reasonable. Price gouging is unreasonable and greedy. Free is also unreasonable and would create a risk of low production quality.

      • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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        2 years ago

        🙄

        The time, effort, and resources could be handled by a public industry that produces a public good. There’s no reason for it to be privatized.

          • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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            2 years ago

            non corrupt governmental oversight

            I mean, we could just wish for a unicorn pony that shits glitter and barfs rainbows while we’re at it.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            2 years ago

            Apparently insulin is always free and so are some other stuff.

            Oh so you mean literally what I said in my original comment?

            IMO a great system is a mix of both a strong private sector and a strong public sector with non corrupt governmental oversight.

            IMO a great system would be to round up the executives, board members, district heads, and shareholders into work camps. 😘

            • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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              2 years ago

              Yes we are familiar with your barely-concealed desire to kill people. What we’re trying to discuss is more of a help-poor-people thing, than it is a hurt-rich-people thing.

              • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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                2 years ago

                What? No! They should never be allowed to die. 🤭

                They have accumulated an incredible debt to society that they must pay back, no matter how long it takes! 😉

        • NaibofTabr@infosec.pub
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          could be handled by a public industry that produces a public good

          could be, in a fantasyland where all people do things out of pure altruism and always put the good of others ahead of their own self-interest.

          I used to believe people could be this way too. Then I turned 8.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
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            2 years ago

            If public libraries were proposed today you would oppose them as fantasyland nonsense.

            In the real world, public works work.