CEO Tracey D. Brown Pushes for Federal Action to Make Insulin and Other Diabetes Medications and Supplies More Affordable
The American Diabetes Association® today urged immediate federal action to bring down the skyrocketing price of diabetes care before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. In a statement for the congressional record submitted in conjunction with a Health Subcommittee hearing on ways for Congress to make prescription drugs more affordable, ADA CEO Tracey D. Brown spoke to the unique financial challenges faced by Americans with diabetes and stressed the need for immediate relief.
“The soaring cost of living with diabetes not only makes the condition harder to manage medically, but also often forces patients to choose between obtaining life-sustaining medications, supplies and devices on the one hand and meeting their other basic needs – like housing and food – on the other. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, nearly one in five people with diabetes report being forced to choose between buying food and filling their prescriptions, a trend that we expect to continue in the absence of meaningful change,” wrote Brown.
“While Congress has for some time considered policy approaches to make drug costs more affordable, we urge this Subcommittee and Congress more broadly to prioritize policy approaches that will serve the medical interests of patients and put money back in their pockets. Proposals that simply shift funds among players in the supply chain will not serve patients if the patients themselves do not participate in these savings – at the pharmacy counter, in their insurance premiums, and in the cost of deductibles. Practical approaches that put patients first should be the primary goal of any effort to make health care more affordable.”
Read the full statement here.
# # #
About the American Diabetes Association
Every day more than 4,000 people are newly diagnosed with diabetes in America. More than 122 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes and are striving to manage their lives while living with the disease. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is the nation’s leading voluntary health organization fighting to bend the curve on the diabetes epidemic and help people living with diabetes thrive. For 80 years the ADA has been driving discovery and research to treat, manage and prevent diabetes, while working relentlessly for a cure. We help people with diabetes thrive by fighting for their rights and developing programs, advocacy and education designed to improve their quality of life. Diabetes has brought us together. What we do next will make us Connected for Life. To learn more or to get involved, visit us at diabetes.org or call 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383). Join the fight with us on Facebook (American Diabetes Association), Twitter (@AmDiabetesAssn) and Instagram (@AmDiabetesAssn).
