Bonamici Releases Report on High Cost of Insulin in NW Oregon

Statement

Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) released a report during Diabetes Awareness Month that highlights the high cost of insulin in Oregon's First Congressional District.

The report, which was produced for Bonamici by the House Oversight and Reform Committee, compares prices for the 50 most popular brand-name prescription diabetes medications in NW Oregon to the same drugs in Australia, the United Kingdom, and Canada. It found that Medicare beneficiaries in NW Oregon pay over a thousand dollars more per year in out-of-pocket costs for some medications than people in the other countries.

You can see the full report here. The report finds that the Medicare costs in Oregon's First District for the top 50 drugs are:

-4.6 times higher than in Australia
-3.2 times higher than in the UK
-2.4 times higher than in Canada

Approximately 20,000 seniors and disabled Medicare beneficiaries have been diagnosed with diabetes in Oregon's First District, which includes Washington, Yamhill, Clatsop, and Columbia counties and part of Multnomah County.

"No one should have to jeopardize their health or worry about affording food because of exorbitant prices for insulin," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "Companies are charging much more for these critical drugs in the U.S. than abroad, hurting seniors and families in Northwest Oregon and across the country. I support the Lower Drug Costs Now Act to stop these disparities and allow Medicare to negotiate for better prices."

"In Oregon, the average Social Security benefit is only about $1,400 a month -- and we know nearly one-third of people 65 and older rely on this earned benefit for most or all of their income," said Ruby Haughton-Pitts, State Director for AARP Oregon. "Older adults take an average of 4.5 prescription medications a month. When you do the math, it's clearly unsustainable. For example, the diabetes medication Lantus has gone from $2,907 in 2012 to $4,702 in 2017. This impacts the thousands of older adults with diabetes to the point where we know some people skip medication -- which can land them in the emergency room or hospital. American should not be paying the high cost of prescription drugs in the world. It's time to Stop Rx Greed and Cut Drug Prices Now."

"Insulin -- a drug that was invented 97 years ago -- has tripled in price since the 1990s," said Max Richtman, President and CEO, National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare. "There is no way that insulin has gotten three times better since then. It's time to end the pharmaceutical industry's price gouging of Americans with serious illnesses. That's why the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare supports Representative Suzanne Bonamici's efforts to pass H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would leverage the market power of nearly 60 million Medicare beneficiaries by finally allowing the program to negotiate prescription drug prices."

Bonamici is a sponsor of H.R. 3, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, which would help lower the cost of prescription drugs like insulin by creating an international pricing index that would address price disparities among the U.S. and other countries. It would also allow Medicare to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices, and make those prices available to private employers and insurers that cover people of all ages.

The methodology and additional background are available in the full report.

Source