My sister told me recently that diabetes medicine costs like $500 a month, something that we both found very alarming and cause for further research. Apparently, diabetes treatment costs around $200-$500 a month without health insurance (PubMed.gov). As shown in the graph below, Insulin prices have been increasing since 2001, only starting to level out starting in 2017. This increase is not only due to price mark ups for old products, but by higher prices for new ones.
It is common knowledge at this point that the American healthcare system makes overpriced medication, and in this specific instance, the disabled are targeted. According to the American Diabetes Association, both types of diabetes are in fact considered a disability, not to mention the high percentage of otherwise disabled people that have diabetes (ADA). Altogether, this leads to an ableist systemic injustice because our government’s health care system enables companies to overcharge for medicine that is needed by the disabled. The definition of systemic injustice is an injustice that is perpetuated by systems in place, which matches with this situation. Whether or not the intentions are to target disabled people with the absurd price tag on insulin, the impact is still the same. It’s as simple as having money is good, not having money is bad, and having diabetes makes you have less money. If this injustice is to be corrected, there needs to be a change to the system that perpetuates it, namely, the American HealthCare system. Personally, I don’t think that free healthcare is the answer, but perhaps putting a limit to how much companies can charge would suffice in solving the issue. Doing this would allow diabetics to not be as fiscally harmed by their health conditions as they currently are.
Antonio Gramsci’s idea of the subaltern can be applied to the disabled in this situation. Money is power, so as to not have money is to not have power. As mentioned, people with diabetes are subject to financial hardship. People with diabetes are the subaltern in this scenario because their power to speak on their issues is severely limited by the systemic injustice they experience due to the American healthcare system. This would also explain the lack of coverage of their issues in the media.
https://health.costhelper.com/cost-diabetes-care.html
https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/insulin-cost-and-pricing-trends/
https://www.diabetes.org/resources/know-your-rights/discrimination/is-diabetes-a-disability
I was aware of the expensive prices of insulin, but was not aware of how expensive. It baffles me that we are still charging insane prices for treatments that people need to survive. I feel like we as a society struggle to see other peoples perspectives, so we do what benefits us the most. People do not understand that affects if these prices until they are the ones paying for it. Your presentation really helped me grasp the magnitude of this issue.