Diabetes alone costs the US and associated healthcare systems $327 billion dollars a year in medical burden. More than 30 million Americans have some form of diabetes largely as a consequence of the overwhelming obesity epidemic and dietary problems the country faces. While diet and exercise are shown to promote exceedingly positive effects on blood sugar levels of diabetics, there is no getting around the fact that insulin medications are an incredible aid to those who must get their blood sugar under control while they supplement with healthier lifestyle choices. The problem? Insulin prices have been skyrocketing year after year.
What is Insulin?
Insulin a hormone and medication that is principally used in the treatment of diabetes. Type 1 diabetics are typically born, not created—meaning that people with type 1 diabetes have had it for much of their life and no amount of diet or exercise can change the fact that their pancreas refuses to produce a sufficient amount of insulin.
Type 2 diabetics are more often than not, created, not born. Many ailments of the modern lifestyle are conducive to developing type 2 diabetes. Life in America, for many, consists of sedentary living. You sit at work, you sit on your commute, you go through the drive-through instead of walking inside your favorite fast-food establishment. Fast food itself is prevalent and offer the utmost convenience. With many Americans working long hours, commuting long distances, as well as being a part of a household where both parents work, it’s no wonder that many people choose to pick up McDonald’s rather than fire up the grill at home after a long day.
All of these factors and more, contribute to weight gain and the inevitable insulin resistance that follows. Insulin resistance is what defines type 2 diabetes. Where a type 1 diabetic does not produce enough insulin, a type 2 diabetic produces enough but the cells in their body do not effectively respond to it, thus requiring more insulin to overcome this resistance.
Why Is Insulin So Expensive?
This breaking news story from the start of the year by NBC tells a preposterous story. For example, the cost of insulin that type 1 diabetics so desperately need has doubled over a mere 5 year period. The Health Care Cost Institute published a study that outlined how in 2016, the average person with type 1 diabetes spent $5,705 on insulin annually. This is a tremendous increase of $2841 per year which was the case in 2012.
Still, that doesn’t answer the question: why is insulin so expensive? You might be led to believe that due to rising rates of diabetes there is a greater need for insulin, but that simply isn’t true. While it IS true that the incidence of diabetes has grown globally in developed countries, the demand for insulin—in the US, remains flat.
Drugmakers contend that the rising prices reflect the steep rebates that must be given to the drugs in order to meet coverage demands by insurance companies. After all—if the buying price is too high off the bat, how can pharmaceutical companies make a profit if no one is purchasing the drug because it isn’t covered?
Insulin is too Expensive and that is Dangerous
Take it from us at RX Solution, we’ve seen first-hand what the skyrocketing prices of prescription medications have done in America. It is expensive with insurance, imagine if you were under-insured or simply had no insurance at all? This is a common plight and is far more common than expected. With high deductibles and expensive co-pays, many Americans feel as if the insurance they pay expensive premiums for ends up doing very little for them if it still costs them a few thousand dollars to receive benefits.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, what do you do when you have mouths to feed, bills to pay and rent to give to keep a roof over your head? Some citizens opt to take a dangerous chance and stop paying for their prescription medications. While this is never recommended, there are some medications that are less dangerous to be temporarily off of than others. Insulin medications are not one of them.
To stop taking insulin as a type-1 diabetic is tantamount to suicide. For type-2 diabetics, the outlook is not that much better if your insulin resistance is severe. While the effects won’t be as pronounced at first, if your blood sugar becomes exceedingly high, your body will inevitably begin to shut down.
Access Affordable Insulin with Prescription Assistance Programs
If you are finding yourself in this predicament of not being able to afford insulin—a drug which is necessary to manage diabetes, the good news is that there is hope.
Patient (or prescription) assistance programs are programs designed to assist those who are having difficulty affording these life-saving medications. The pharmaceuticals market is unbelievably competitive, make no mistake, if it comes down to one brand of insulin or the other, manufacturers will do whatever it takes to have you as a customer.
This has resulted in many drug manufacturers offering steep rebates on drugs for those who apply for them and gain approval on their applications. Each manufacturer has different requirements for eligibility, so the process can be confusing and tedious to apply for if you choose to complete multiple applications for different prescriptions you may have.
Rx Solution was founded on the premise of helping disadvantaged and uninsured Americans gain access to affordable medications through these prescription coupons.
Our highly experienced and knowledgeable team can complete these applications for you and give you the best chance at approval, so you can start reaping the benefits of discounted medications such as Humulin, Trulicity, NovoLog, Humalog, etc.
Contact us here if you have any questions or concerns about how the process works. We will be more than happy to answer any and all inquiries and help you get the help that you or a loved one require!