U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin Calls on Pharmaceutical Companies to Explain Skyrocketing Insulin Prices
Senators: “It is clear that these steep price increases are resulting in patients lacking access to the life-saving medications they need.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined her colleagues to call on executives at Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi— the three insulin manufacturers in the U.S.—demanding information about rising insulin costs and questioning the companies that recently decided to raise prices for the life-saving drug even further.
“According to the World Health Organization, insulin is an essential medicine, meaning that access to this drug at a price that individuals and communities can afford is a basic requirement of a functioning health care system. Unfortunately, rapidly increasing insulin prices mean that for many patients, access to this essential medicine is threatened. Patients have had to resort to desperate measures when confronted with increased insulin prices or high cost-sharing for their prescriptions. Some patients have turned to GoFundMe pages to request help paying for insulin, and one in four diabetic patients report rationing the medication because of the cost, with potentially devastating consequences. It is clear these steep price increases are resulting in patients lacking access to the life-saving medications they need,” wrote the Senators.
The letter was also signed by Senators Bob Casey (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The letters are available below.
- A PDF of the letter to Eli Lilly is available here.
- A PDF of the letter to Novo Nordisk is available here.
- A PDF of the letter to Sanofi is available here.
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