Affordable Insulin Now

Floor Speech

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Ms. GARCIA of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the incredible impact the bipartisan Affordable Insulin Now Act will have on Americans across the Nation.

It is no secret diabetes poses a major health burden to Americans across our country. Texas, in particular, suffers greatly from the effects of type 2 diabetes. Every day, new Texans are diagnosed. On top of that, the rate of new cases increases every single year.

This topic, Mr. Speaker, hits very close to home. I have seen firsthand the hurdles diabetes creates for families simply looking to live a quiet life and be alone and have a good, productive life. In my family, my mother faced uphill health battles because of diabetes most of her adult life. She died eventually of diabetes complications.

Diabetes runs in my family. In fact, my doctor tells me that no matter what I do, I may end up getting diabetes. I am one of 10 children. Five of us have already gotten diabetes and are dependent on insulin.

Sadly, this epidemic disproportionately impacts older adults, especially Latinos, minorities, and populations with lower levels of education. It remains one of the leading causes of death in Texas and the United States. In my own home county of Harris County, diabetes is the fifth leading cause of death.

Even when purchased through Medicare, insulin is more than three times as expensive in the United States than in the U.K. The bipartisan Affordable Insulin Now Act is truly needed to save lives.

The Affordable Insulin Now Act caps insulin copays at $35 per month or 25 percent of an insurance plan's negotiated price, whichever is lower. It is a great first step, and it will save lives. But more must be done.

You see, Mr. Speaker, Americans without health insurance will not benefit from this bill. This will help those residents who are fortunate to already have health insurance, and we welcome this support. Again, it is a great first step. But much more is very needed.

Texas is the State with the highest rate of uninsured individuals and, in my district, 33 percent of the residents in my district do not have health insurance.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, my district has the highest number of uninsured people than in any other district in the Nation. To make matters worse, diabetes is highly concentrated in east Texas, the area where I live. It pains me that these folks were not included in the bill.

The immense health and emotional challenges diabetes brings to households are burdensome enough; but its economic strain is ruthless to families not fortunate enough to have insurance.

Because of corporate greed and companies focused only on profits, Texans without medical insurance face astronomical prices for insulin. In short, people with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2.3 times higher than those who do not have diabetes.

The out-of-pocket costs for healthcare and insulin have crippled hardworking Americans across our country. It has gotten so bad that one in four people have rationed, rationed lifesaving insulin because they could not afford proper dosage amounts. This is unacceptable and wrong, and we must do better.

No one--I repeat, no one--should have to gamble with their health by rationing insulin to make ends meet. The bipartisan Affordable Insulin Now Act will save lives, and it is a great step forward. But I will continue fighting for residents across my district who do not currently have health insurance but do need insulin. We will continue to fight until we get it done.

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