A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that in 2021, nearly 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. with diabetes either skipped, delayed or used less insulin than was needed to save money. That comes out to roughly 1.3 million adults, or 16.5% of those who need insulin.
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“In the ICU, I have cared for patients who have life-threatening complications of diabetes because they couldn’t afford this life-saving drug,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Adam Gaffney, a critical care physician at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts.“Universal access to insulin, without cost barriers, is urgently needed,” he said.
Starting Jan. 1, the Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law by President Joe Biden in August, will cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for seniors on Medicare. The bill, however, will leave out millions of Americans with private health insurance as well as those who are uninsured.
Nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults with diabetes ration insulin to save money, study finds
Young adults and the uninsured — those who will be left out of the Inflation Reduction Act’s monthly insulin cap — were the most likely to ration their medication.
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.
NBCNEWS