Virginia House passes bill to lower cost of insulin

A bill aimed at making treating diabetes more affordable passed in the Virginia House of Delegates with broad bipartisan support.

More people living with diabetes may soon have easier access to the life-saving insulin and health care equipment they need in Virginia. 

The Virginia House of Delegates passed a bill Wednesday that would lower the cost of insulin from $50 to $35 for a 30-day supply and establish a cap of $35 for a 30-day supply of diabetes equipment and supplies. 

The legislation, House Bill 1214, was carried by state Del. Karrie Delaney (D-Centreville) and passed with bipartisan support in a vote of 98 to 0. 

The bill comes as awareness has grown about the struggles of people with diabetes. 

The Inflation Reduction Act that former President Joe Biden signed into law in 2022 capped the cost of insulin products at $35 a month for people with Medicare plans. The idea for Delaney’s bill is to extend that cap to everyone with diabetes, not just people covered by Medicare. 

The Virginia Department of Health estimated in November that more than 10% of Virginia adults have diabetes and that 56,000 adults are diagnosed with diabetes each year in the state. 

Diabetes is a chronic disease where sugar levels in a person’s bloodstream are higher than normal. Insulin helps a person’s body use sugar for energy and regulate blood sugar levels. Excess blood sugar in the bloodstream can cause serious health problems like heart disease, stroke, amputations, and blindness.   

When people can’t afford insulin, some try rationing it out, which can lead to complications that land them in the emergency room. 

Jared Calfee, the state advocacy director for AARP Virginia, said the bill will help people save money on the medication they need and likely help reduce demand on the healthcare system.

“If people are treating (diabetes) the way that they need to, then you at least reduce the prevalence of some of those additional complications and problems, which is good for the health care system overall,” Calfee said in an interview. 

Rhena Hicks, executive director at Freedom Virginia, an advocacy organization, said the cap on insulin supplies is an important part of the bill. Hicks was diagnosed with type one diabetes when she was 13 years old and has seen the way the technology to treat diabetes has improved over time, but also become more expensive. 

Syringes and vials are the cheapest supplies used to administer insulin, but they aren’t as precise as insulin pumps, and most people find getting stuck by needles uncomfortable. 

An insulin pump can cost as much as several thousand dollars, depending on a person’s health insurance plan. 

Hicks said the bipartisan support for the bill shows that lawmakers from both parties understand that treating diabetes is a matter of life and death, which wasn’t always the case. 

“There were times where insurance wasn’t sure if they would cover insulin pumps for people,” Hicks said. 

While bringing down the costs of insulin and diabetes equipment is a good goal, HB 1214 does not address the needs of people who do not have insurance, said Donney John, the executive director of NOVA ScriptsCentral, a charitable pharmacy. 

John noted that 300,000 people could become uninsured in Virginia given that Republicans in Congress blocked the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits and made major cuts to Medicaid. 

“We need to look at solutions that can help everybody, regardless of their insurance status,” John said in an interview.