Smith & Cramer Fight For Bill to Lower Insulin Prices

WASHINGTON – Minnesota Sen. Tina Smith and North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer push the Senate Finance Committee to hold a hearing on their bill to make insulin affordable.

The senators say seven-and-a-half million Americans rely on insulin and the price has nearly doubled between 2012 and 2016.

Smith and Cramer’s Emergency Access to Insulin Act would allow states to set up an emergency insulin program. It would be for people in a crisis because they don’t have health insurance or can’t afford insulin.

“You could go to Canada and buy a vial of insulin for, I’ve heard, around $27, but in the United States when you go to your local pharmacy that could cost over $300,” Smith said.

Smith says the reason insulin is so high is because three companies in the country manufacture it and charge whatever they want. She adds the American government isn’t allowed to negotiate the price like Canadians can.