Insulin and its pricing
If a person is diagnosed with diabetes, he or she needs to take special care to maintain his/her blood sugar levels. Thus, taking care of one’s body is a hard task that requires a lot of effort. It is like a 24/7 job. Apart from the effort the medications and proper diet cost handsomely as well. The pricing of insulin has risen dramatically since the 1990s. From 2012 to 2016 the cost of insulin increased by 20.7% [1].
Insulin is a lifesaving medication for people who are diagnosed with diabetes. Therefore, it must be at an affordable price.
Sometimes, people say that diabetes can get expensive. And if we consider the cost of insulin, there is no second doubt in proving that sentence as true. Always remember money is a materialistic thing, it can come and go but your health is not a materialistic thing, it will not come and go. Therefore, always put your health first.
Alternatives and different programs for purchasing insulin
These days when everything can be found and purchased through online methods, there are a lot of options that give you a variety of options to purchase your prescription at lower prices. Apart from insulin, there are also non-prescription medical items, and these items all come at a good heavy price.
Many pharmacies offer different types of discounts and offer as well. You can know about these special offers and discounts through the medium of their brochure or website. Many of them have circulars and handouts that can easily be found if you shop in person or in offline mode.
There are also different types of pharmaceutical assistance programs. Pharmaceutical assistance programs are basically offers given by manufacturers. Many manufacturers offer pharmaceutical assistance programs to help people afford their insulin. You need to go through their screening process to qualify for these programs.
The major manufacturers of insulin in the United States are;
- Novo Nordisk: The Novo Patient Assistance Program provides Medicare assistance to people who are with no health insurance and who have income below 400% of the federal poverty level.
- Eli Lilly: Lily Care Foundation The Patient Assistance Program provides and gives free Eli Lilly insulin products to people who have Medicare part D or no health insurance.
- Sanofi: Sanofi Patient Assistance Connection provides free Sanofi insulin products to people that have income below 400% of the federal poverty level. They also provide insulin to people who do not have health insurance.
Mentioned above are some known manufacturers that provide assistance programs to their consumers. Apart from these above-mentioned, there are also some other manufacturers that have different consumer programs. To avail of offers and programs themselves, one needs to qualify for their respective screening process.
Some other Program matching services
There are many programs that allow patients to avail themselves of offers, discounts, and much more on their medication at an affordable cost for themselves. These programs are for people who use specific insulin and if they qualify for their screening process then they can easily avail themselves as well. The screening process differs from one to another. For instance, some of them work on criteria such as;
- Fall within income guidelines.
- Living in a certain area.
So, you need to find the program that fits your requirements, you can use the services that are given below to find the best program for you.
- GetInsulin.org: GetInsulin.org is a very well-known service that suggests the ways by which you can find ways to afford your insulin. You simply need to fill out the details like your prescription, income details, health insurance details, and location, etc. to find the best results for you. It will suggest the best programs that are available for you.
- Medicine Assistance Tool: Medicine Assistance Tool (MAT) is a program that works similarly to GetInsulin.org. You just need to enter the required information and then it will connect you to the desired programs.
- NeedyMeds: NeedyMeds is a resource that has data on healthcare information. You can enter your location and details and it will provide you with the most suitable results accordingly.
- RxAssist: RxAssist is an assisting tool that connects you with the programs that can help you in getting free or low-cost insulin. You can search for your insulin prescription to get started.
- B: RxHope is just like RxAssist. You need to enter your details about your insulin prescription, and it will find the best patient programs for you. You can choose and apply for any of those patient programs.
You can use these services to find the best programs for you that suit your requirements.
Some other ways to afford insulin
Apart from enrolling in one of the manufacturers’ programs, you can also go for these options;
- You can ask your doctors to prescribe a different brand’s insulin if your previous brand is costing much. For example, there is a brand-named Walmart’s ReliOn Insulin, it provides insulin at a cheaper rate as compared to others because the insulin that they are providing is in an older form and known as synthetic human insulin. Therefore, always consult your doctors for cheaper substitutes or alternatives.
- There are community health centers that also provide insulin at cheaper rates, you can find any of those centers and get the benefit out of it.
- You can also ask your insurance provider for the coverage, if they have any preferred brand, you can after consulting with your doctor and then you can go for that brand.
These are the certain ways that you can choose to get insulin at a more affordable price.
Initiatives in regard to Insulin affordability
There are a lot of initiatives that have been taken into action and many of them are underway to reduce the cost of insulin. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) proposed three propositions to make insulin more affordable. And these are as follows;
- The Insulin Price Reduction Act: with the help of this act the manufacturers will be getting incentives to lower the cost of Insulin.
- The Safe Step Act: with the help of the Safe Step Act, the insurance company’s “step therapy” programs can be eliminated. Because these programs require a whole lot of money.
- The Chronic Condition Copay Elimination Act: with the help of this act, it would remove the copays for medications used to treat conditions such as diabetes.
These are some of the suggestions or initiatives that the ADA wants to get implemented to bring down the cost of insulin for diabetic people.
Tips to follow in general
So, there is no doubt that diabetes care can get expensive from purchasing insulin to purchasing other medication such as blood sugar meters, strips, etc. Therefore, one needs to find a way to reduce the cost of the medications that are related to diabetes. They need to follow and remember certain tips that can help them to save a ton on these medications.
Tips are as follows;
- Always try to have good health insurance from a good health insurer. If you are unable to get one, contact and check with your insurer about the medications that their plan covers and then consult with your doctors accordingly.
- Before using any type of medication, you first need to consult with your doctor. They will prescribe you the medication according to your need.
- Always compare prices, you can shop around in your neighborhood physically or as well as virtually through online mode to get the best prices for your medications.
- Try to find a drug discount program. Drug discount programs will help you to provide your medication at cheaper rates.
Follow these tips and suggestions to reduce the cost of your diabetes medications and get the best out of them. Do remember always consult with your doctors before taking any type of medication.
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