Insulin cost epidemic

We need socialism because of the insulin crisis. A search for the term “insulin” on Google gives you more than 6,000 results. Scrolling through, you will find countless diabetics asking for donations so they can afford medical supplies, insulin pumps, or even insulin itself. If you have insulin-dependent diabetes you cannot rely on diet to manage your condition, since there is no cure.

Before insulin became available in the 1920s, patients were put on starvation diets. Children usually died within a year, and less than 20 percent of people with diabetes survived ten years past their diagnosis. Science and medicine have improved for diabetics in the past century, allowing them to live largely normal existences, but there is a new challenge facing patients: insulin manufacturers.

Three companies—Novo Nordisk, Sanofi, and Eli Lilly—have taken over the insulin market, and the price of the drug has shot up in recent years. The cost of manufacturing a year’s worth of insulin ranges between $48 and $133, according to a 2018 study. Currently, a vial of fast-acting insulin retails around $340 without insurance and can only be used for 30 days after being opened.

Diabetics have had no choice but spend more and more money to stay alive, with insulin prices growing. The cost of insulin has doubled since 2012 and tripled from 2002 to 2013. This means if you fall into poverty, you could easily die. Those who can’t afford insulin are forced to dangerously ration their supplies. Rationing insulin, or “running yourself high,” is an all-too-common way to save money.

In one widely covered case, Shane Patrick Boyle, a type one diabetic, died because a GoFundMe effort to pay for his insulin came up $50 short. He had been rationing his insulin, and died of diabetic ketoacidosis, a complication that occurs when diabetics do not have enough insulin in their bodies. In one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it is a massive problem when people are dying from lack of access to insulin.

There’s no justification for insulin to be kept from anyone on the basis of money alone. The insane cost of healthcare can be seen everywhere from the rising price of an EpiPen, which saves the lives of those experiencing anaphylactic shock, to the shockingly high price of birthing a child or visiting the emergency room. Medicare for all, under the bill put forward by Bernie Sanders, would create a universal, government-run health plan that includes vision and dental. It would be one of the most generous government healthcare programs in the world. Medicare for All is a great start, and its supporters say that it would also reduce the cost of drugs.