As a pre-med student with an older sister in pharmacy school the healthcare system is a constant topic of discussion in my household. Today I want to talk about how the American pharmaceutical industry mistreats insulin. Insulin is significantly more expensive in the United States than in any other country. This is completely unfair. Those who are dependent on insulin have to get insulin in order to survive. Most people cannot help their condition and others need the insulin to support their body until they can get diabetes under control enough to not be insulin dependent. However, insulin is super expensive. There are few companies dispensing insulin in the United states, so they basically have a monopoly on the industry. The pharmaceutical industry is then able to charge much more for their product and even people living in poverty have to have around $400 for their insulin every week or so. For the companies producing the insulin it is only costing them about 30 cents per $400 vial (Rajkumar). Many people cannot afford this. Insulin is fairly cheap to make, but they are being sold over 88 times higher than the price to make. The need for insulin to live and lack of laws regulating the prices of medications in the United States means that companies are taking advantage of their customers. However, the customers are just trying to stay alive. I have heard stories of people literally skipping doses in order to ration out insulin. The system has failed us here. Insulin can be an essential life need in the same way as food or water is, but is being sold at prices that require hundreds of dollars every week (Rajkumar). This is an injustice because it is something that allows people to live but is a luxury to those living on tight budgets. The control is in the hands of companies that are not regulated. The healthcare and pharmaceutical industries need to focus on the accessibility on insulin instead of the money they can make by marking it up to the extent that it is done. The fix to this would be to offer this at a better price that would help those that cannot afford insulin even when their life depends on it.
Rajkumar, Vincent. “The High Cost of Insulin in the United States: An Urgent Call to Action.” Mayo Clinic Proceedings , 1 Jan. 2020, https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(19)31008-0/fulltext#relatedArticles.
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Podcast: https://play.acast.com/s/7c237614-aac0-48dc-bcb9-55ac500847b2/58e23808-7882-49d0-a72a-843cc153dcc5
This podcast breaks down the increase in insulin prices over the last few years.
This picture shows a vial and syringe of insulin. These can cost over $400 dollars and last less than a week for a diabetic patient.
https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safety-resources/resources-for-parents-and-kids/managing-your-diabetes/chapter-five-taking-insulin
This picture shows different parts of the body that are negatively affected by insulin deficiencies.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169409X18302606#f0010
This shows how insulin opens glucose channels that allow for sugar to be regulated in the body.
https://www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/type-1-diabetes/type-1-diabetes-insulin
I think this is one example of injustice that I would have never thought of. I find it astounding that when it comes to medicinal prices, the government treats it like some kind of gain for the money. I am curious to know if think that making this known to more people will convince the government to change the prices? I think it’s interesting to me because of how closely this can relate to the subaltern. Do you think that if people with higher power said something, things will change?
The prices for many different medicines is alarming, knowing that so many people rely on it and need it to survive but can’t always obtain it due to the price is heartbreaking. They see this as a way to make money even though they know lives are at risks. This needs to be brought more attention to and bring change.
I am very glad you chose to talk about this because I don’t think many people are aware of how expensive insulin is and how this affects those who need it. Many people are unable to afford their insulin, especially people who have a low income. It isn’t fair because everyone should be able to afford medication that keeps them alive and/or makes their life easier.
You brought up some great points and I appreciate that you chose a topic that seems to not be talked about as much as it should be. I agree that it is unfair for people who cannot help a condition that they have to have to pay unreasonable amounts of money to keep it under control. Diabetes is a serious disease and also very common in the U.S and the healthcare system knows they can profit greatly from people suffering from this condition.
Wow i had heard of the rising prices of insulin before but I was unaware of the cost being 400 when is costs pennies to produce. That system is completely broken considering diabetes is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and many are born with it. I hope that one day this monopoly will be destroyed.
I’ve always know how pricy insulin and other medications can get but didn’t know the alarming rate it’s increasing. It is very important to use and those who rely on them just to survive. I’m glad you brought this up because it should be talked more about.
It’s alarming how much more expensive healthcare in America is compared to most other countries, especially considering that our government pays the most money per person on healthcare. I’m glad you wrote about it, as educating people on how horrible our healthcare system is can help us to change it in the future by voting for people who will prevent price gouging by this parasitic industry.
The insulin crises exemplifies how healthcare in America is often for profit and not for protection or prevention. Only 3 companies control 90% of the global insulin market, and by using Pay-for-Delay schemes and lawsuits, these companies can actually prevent other companies from entering the market to provide more due to patent laws. I believe this demonstrates the priority of financial gain, instead of helping or even saving lives across the country. Additionally, the matter is even more systemically complex when we consider that even though most of the United States population identities as white, they also account for the lowest rate of diabetes among all ethnic and racial groups (Native Americans being the highest).
https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national-diabetes-statistics-report.pdf
https://www.t1international.com/blog/2019/01/20/why-insulin-so-expensive/
This post was very informational and really brought it to my attention about how alarming the insulin issue is. It is crazy to think that the healthcare system in America is so bad that people have to pay hundreds of dollars for something they need to survive. It is awful that people face this certain injustice and the issue is not being taken care of putting more and more stress on people who need insulin to survive.
I think this is absolutely absurd that a drug that is dependent on by so many Americans is at such a ridiculously high cost. It is awful that this group of people is not being taken care of and supported because of a condition that they could not control. Thank you for sharing this information; I think it is really important to be advocates for these people and try to support change in the healthcare system.
I found your post to be very informational and a systematic injustice that I really never had thought about. I didn’t realize that a drug that most all people depend on is such a high cost, and it is really hard to think that the healthcare system is like this when it should be helping people out, and not putting people down like this. I really liked your images since it brought out the parts of the body and where everything is stored in really well since I don’t know much about medicine and helped me understand more about your systematic injustice well.