MSNBC "The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Kim Schrier
Interview
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Our next guest, Democratic Congresswoman Kim Schrier of Washington is a pediatrician and has type 1 diabetes, which requires her to take insulin. Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Kim Schrier of Washington state. Thank you very much for joining us tonight. Really appreciate it.
Take us through this provision on insulin, how it works, what it means to Americans, and what it personally means to you.
REP. KIM SCHRIER (D-WA): Lawrence, thank you for having me. This is a really big deal. I want to, you know -- how do I communicate how much insulin is in a bottle. And I thought I would just bring one bottle out and show you it is tiny. There is two teaspoons that fit in a bottle of insulin.
And the price at this point -- I`ve had diabetes for 37 years. I remember when it was about $10 a bottle. In the year 2000 it was about $40 a bottle. And now this same bottle of insulin is over $300.
[22:49:59]
SCHRIER: And that has moved it from being a medicine that is affordable and life-saving to unaffordable and life-threatening. And so we hear about people rationing their insulin, or even dying because they`re waiting for their next paycheck. And $35 a month insulin is affordable and will save lives.
O`DONNELL: To see the price go in 20 years from $20 to $300 is a form of inflation that Republicans don`t seem to care about at all.
SCHRIER: Well, I hate to speak for Republicans, but I would say that, you know, insulin is a particularly egregious example of what has happened with drug pricing in our country. It is not the only medication that has gone out of control in terms of pricing, but we have a system that is opaque to say the least.
And where there`s a lot of hands along the way that are taking profit while the American people pay prices that are three to four times higher than the rest of the world. And insulin is particularly egregious.
O`DONNELL: So how is this going to work? If I`m a diabetes patient now and presumably I`m getting some, if I`m lucky, I`m getting some kind of coverage for this in my health insurance. How`s it going to work for me?
SCHRIER: So if you`re a patient now, you are paying a co-pay or co- insurance when you go and pick up your medicine. If you`re a person with a high deductible you`re going -- and you are paying full cost until you get up to your deductible.
Now you will pay no more than $35 per month. And that is a really big deal. You know, the people who pay the most for insulin are those without insurance and those with high deductible insurance. And this is going to particularly help them.
O`DONNELL: There`s one survey indicated that about 25 percent of the patients in this country have to hoard or manage their insulin supply in some way, not -- use less of it on schedule than they are supposed to.
SCHRIER: Yes. Let me explain what that means. You know, you need a certain amount of insulin just to stay alive. But to have really good control, to have the kind of control that will keep you healthy for many years, that will keep you out of the hospital, that will have you living a long, productive life, you need more insulin and you need to use it carefully.
And so you know, the notion that people are rationing at the end of the month, that means they are compromising their health. And when that happens, ultimately we all pay because they end up in the hospital and, you know, none of us should tolerate that.
O`DONNELL: Congresswoman Kim Schrier, thank you for your uniquely important perspective on this. We really appreciate it.
SCHRIER: Thank you.
O`DONNELL: Thank you.
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