Tennessee state Rep. Jason Hodges wrote a bill to forbid any pharmacy in Tennessee from charging more than $100 for a 30-day insulin supply, thinking that would force drug companies to lower their prices.

Hodges secured enough votes for his bill to set a $100 price ceiling — not a copay cap — at its first reading. But in June he decided to pull the bill, after colleagues whose support he counted on told him they would no longer vote for it. “I refused to change the bill, and so at that point pharmaceutical companies were very opposed to it,” he said.

Read more below…

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/states-are-trying-cap-price-insulin-pharmaceutical-companies-are-pushing-n1236766?fbclid=IwAR2HMYH-1KES2VGFqGmwjtTsYtH2ZAbYYHGEvrbgiNOPmVaQ_PcwC1s5EGg

TN Rep Jason Hodges advised me that our Insulin Cap bill is getting National attention. Several other states want to adopt our bill. There is an investigative journalist that is looking to interview an uninsured person that is dealing with diabetes and having to pay for everything out of pocket. If you meet this criteria and are willing to be interviewed please call or text me at 931-378-0500. 

Hello, everyone,

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything on this page. So much has changed for so many of us, and yet, some things have stayed the same. COVID-19 has shaken our livelihoods. That is undeniable.

I didn’t know it’d be anything like this. Did any of us, really? I hoped for the best, and I still do every day. I am trying my best to live in the present and seize what good I can.

I can only speak to how it has affected me as an individual. I cannot understand how it affects you, though I am open and care about your wellbeing. I have certainly had my share of anxiety throughout this. Still, the insulin affordability crisis remains an issue among everything we’re facing today. Type 1 diabetes never stops. We know that. As people have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, faults in our healthcare system have become even clearer to the public eye. Even with insurance, COVID-19 doctor bills can burn.

People with type 1 diabetes know, perhaps more than most, that the lifesaving supplies we need every day, though manufactured at a much lesser cost, comes at a much greater one in every sense of the word. Solutions may not come with just one appointment. You may require more visits, more trials and errors with medicine, more support… COVID-19 has shifted the conversation and more Americans are suffering from the great costs of this pandemic. The pandemic has overwhelmed 2020. This is not how we wanted to bring our picture to light, but the point is being made – the cost of healthcare across the United States for a variety of conditions is too much. 

While insulin manufacturers and diabetic supply companies have lowered prices and created affordability programs in the wake of COVID-19, my goal is to ensure they are not bandaid solutions for this community. How do we do this? I hope that together we can continue to be brave and share our stories and struggles so that we can make the differences we want to see.

We need sustainable solutions in terms of cost and coverage. That has not changed in the wake of COVID-19, despite more urgent issues taking a necessary spotlight.

COVID-19 has made it abundantly clear that our healthcare system must change. Healthcare workers need more support. People need access to affordable healthcare. And disease does not discriminate. Our health shouldn’t be so far out of reach, no matter who we identify as.  

We can do better than today. Though I haven’t shared an update on this page in a while, please know that I am not giving up as an advocate of this community and I hope you aren’t either. We are capable of finding hope amid difficulty. I believe in this community. 

More than anything, I hope you are taking care of yourself and your family. I hope you are well, and if you have contracted the virus, I hope more than anything that you are on the path of recovery.

Life is fragile. I respect the time I have and hope to make the most of it. Please keep sharing insulin affordability insights with your networks. There is so much negativity in the world, so let’s make the effort to focus our messaging on what good changing our healthcare system will do for all. There is a lot of good to be done, and I know there are many good people who support access to affordable healthcare for all. 

For many of us, that thought starts with insulin access and affordability. Wherever you begin, begin in this place of hope. Don’t lose it. We can still do this. 

There is so much strength in hope. We are stronger than the darkest times. Together, we can affect positive change.

Take care, Julia

Today President Trump announced a price reduction on insulin for Medicare beneficiaries ONLY.  This new agreement does not help the other 5.3 million Americans that do have diabetes.  This fight is not over.  Please contact your representatives that we are not satisfied until ALL Americans that have diabetes, can afford insulin.  Here is a list of the California diabetes caucus.  I am 57 years old and have been taking insulin since 1974.  What he did today does not help my insulin cost.

Health insurance companies plan to soon start charging patients for Covid-19 treatment, despite the fact that the pandemic rages on and that insurers are actually profiting from it. Please consider signing this petition I just started asking them to keep covering Covid-19 cost-free.
 
I’m still beating the drums to get Blue Cross Blue Shield insurers to stop overcharging for insulin and other prescription drugs, but thought you’d also be interested in this other urgent health insurance issue.
 
Thanks.
 
Best,
Michael

Some good news about our insulin.

In response to the crisis caused by COVID-19, Eli Lilly is introducing the Eli Lilly Insulin Value Program, allowing anyone with commercial insurance and those without insurance at all to fill their monthly prescription of Lilly insulin for $35. The program is effective today and covers most Lilly insulins including all Humalog® (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL) formulations.  There is more information at this website.