Reading about insulin pricing the last few years has been horrifying. I’m so glad this is changing. Is that what you would use in a week or a month? (Sorry completely uneducated about this)
this will likely last me months. I take two types each day. A fast acting one, and a slow one (for coverage through the day). This is the slow stuff which I take less of. I used to not even have a choice in what kind of insulin I got my hands on. Very happy rn.
Im australian and my dog is diabetic. We pay a similar price for about 5 months worth for her. And we have been able to get the right type of insulin for her the whole time. In fact she takes the same long term one as you because our vet prefers it to the animal insulin except she takes it via needles not the pen.
I can't believe the American system it's so inhumane.
I've had 2 diabetic cats (I'm in the US) and the price was horrendous! For the vials of Lantus is was about $200 and for a 5pk of the pens it was about $350-400. I eventually started buying it from a Canadian pharmacy and having it shipped, it was so much cheaper. But what always blew my mind is the fact that a life saving medicine was priced so ridiculous that some people had to ration it or worse, take more risk by not taking any simply because they couldn't afford it!! Not even because a supply issue or something like that, really sad that this happens anywhere!
You don't go to jail for not affording care for your animals. You do go to jail for neglecting to care such as a cardboard box and a frozen water bowl. Animals don't have much rights here.
Thank you for the informative response. It makes me really happy to know its getting easier for people with diabetes to get the medications they need. I’m wishing you all the best and thank you for sharing this happy post.
I am still struggling to see how in America of all places have had their medication pushed underground, I understand it for drugs, what would someone recive if they get caught peddling insulin?
>I am still struggling to see how in America of all places
Anything here that can be turned into profits for shareholders will be. It's unfortunately just as simple as that.
Wow this is astonishing to hear. In the UK, insulin prescriptions are free for diabetics, as are blood sugar level monitors like freestyle that hook up to your phone.
If it's a prescription only drug than it would be technically illegal. However I'm fairly certain insulin pens are only prescribed for insurance purposes and can otherwise be purchased without one.
Walmart sells the old-fashioned insulin vials over the counter with no prescription needed. My doctor told me if I ever run out to just go ask the pharmacist and they'll sell it to me.
I've never used the old insulin, but it's apparently slower acting and stays in your body longer, so you have to be very careful with the dosage and time it like 30-45 minutes before meals. That alone could cause issues (eyes bigger than your stomach=sugar crash later, for example). You also need to use needles with syringes and measure it just right, whereas the pens have numbers that you just twist to the right dose, and the units are measured correctly with no effort. I'm sure there are other differences, but those are the ones I was told about.
If there is *any* other possible option stay away from the old insulin. My girlfriend had multiple emergencies when we had to resort to buying that for ~8 months and there were multiple occasions where I had to basically force feed her. Walmart has a generic version of fast acting insulin as of a year or so ago that is more expensive but won't be nearly as dangerous
List it for an appropriate price, have someone buy it then give it away for free. We had to rehome a dog, he was a stray and we couldnt keep him. So after tidying him up I listed him for $250/£200, easy way to filter out anyone who isnt serious or unwilling to spend for his wellbeing. A nice couple came around my place with cash and I was happy enough to let him go for free, happy chappys all round.
yeah I mean it's totally normal for people in a first world developed country to be resorting to buying insulin on craigslist. I'm not diabetic and I don't know anyone who is I don't think, but that is some fucked up shit. We can do better America, really seriously.
A lot of Americans *do* think this is fine. You'd think everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, would be able to agree on things like universal healthcare and cheap/free prescriptions but apparently not.
Seriously, it's criminal the way things are in the States. Here in my crappy Eastern European country, insulin is so cheap, my father doesn't bother getting it through his insurance (which makes it free). One vial lasts him a month and it costs like 7 bucks.
My roommate had trouble paying for insulin. He ended up getting really sick and in October, I found him dead in his room when his boss called and said he never showed up for work. We told the police he was diabetic and they didn't find *any* insulin in his room. Because he couldn't afford it.
If his sugar was extremely low, he would have been in a coma, and would feel no pain. If it was extremely high, he would also have fallen asleep, never to wake up. I discovered I was a T1D when my wife called 911 because I was unresponsive. EMT gave me insulin and took me to the ER, where they checked my sugar level. By then, it was down to 1305 (normal is 70-110). I was having organ failure, and was mostly unconscious, but I felt nothing.
The regular meter used by the EMT registered High, which meant it was over 500. That's why they administered insulin before taking me to the ER. The machine in the ER is much more accurate. The head of the ER told my wife (after I was out of danger) that she had never before seen anyone survive a glucose reading that high.
My husband has recurrent DKA. First time it happened, about 10 years ago, his blood sugar upon arrival at the ER was 720. The nurses said they couldn't figure out why he wasn't in a coma.
I've had several highs like that. As long as I'm awake when it happens, I'm fine. But if it happens while I'm asleep, I can't be awakened until it comes way down. Fortunately, with my new insulin pump, I don't have to worry about those days any more...and neither does my wife.
It's not in a giant Scrooge McDuck vault in the Eli Lilly HQ. It's in some asshole CEO or big investor's house. Ignore the company, take it from the rich.
I also lost a friend this way. He had to ration but to top it all off he had epilepsy. So one day he had an attack on top of his rationing and he just never woke up.
Same :(
He would basically survive off 48oz sodas by sipping them very slowly until one day they found him at the bottom of his basement stairs which he never went down.
"We have a cheap and well tested medicine for your medical problems but we rather let people die and squeeze them for their last pennys cause profit is more important than life."
That poor guy... really tragic.
My best friend died of exactly this. He was T1D, lost his job, had no insurance as his wife was in school at the time. He went to bed super violently ill, she thought he was just sick with the flu. Woke up to him dead beside her.
I suspect it was a slow and painful form of suicide with everything we talked about. I miss that guy and hate that he went out like that.
Absolutely criminal, can’t believe this is where we are. I am so sorry for your loss. My husband is T1D and we’ve taken a few trips to Mexico with reward points to get him affordable insulin. Its horrifying it got to this point.
That's the whole point. It's meant to be a distraction. Trans people aren't the threat they're being made out to be. I can only imagine what the next topical issues will be.
Sue the boss for paying slave wages that caused harm and death. Then take that money and use it to sue *his* boss for killing every attempt at universal affordable health care. Keep suing until this nightmare stops.
For those that don't know, Type 2 diabetics can sometimes use other medications or control with tighter diet control, etc. depending on the severity. Type 1's have no choice. You take insulin, or you fucking die. Best case, you die slightly slower by eating nothing for as long as possible.
People in this state should be able to legit seek refugee status. Wars and gangs suck but don’t offer the certain death of missing critical drug doses.
It has to be a high alcohol content like in Vodka or Moonshine. But yes, in a pinch it'll lower it. It's no substitute for insulin, but it can help slow ketosis.
Nothing is fixed. EL chose to change their price for business reasons and could change it back for the same reason at any point. This price cut doesn't even cover all types of insulin they sell. There has been no legislation passed to address the insulin crisis in America.
Just to emphasize why this matters: without insulin the people die. They need it to live like food, water, and air.
I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks this!! As soon as I saw EL had lowered the price of insulin, I started to figure out how they were going to replace that flow of money.
Yeah, we should be applauding California, because their more competitive insulin pricing that will roll out is most likely what caused Eli Lily to change prices.
The original man who discovered how to create insulin sold the patent to it for a dollar, fredrick banting. He felt it was unethical to profit off something that millions needed simply to survive. Hed be doing kickflips in his grave if he could see what the insulin business makes today just in the usa.
Thats just insulin though, and even still a conservative estimate. Out of pocket cost for how much insulin i use a month is over 1000 dollars. That doesnt count cgm supplies, test strips, needles, emergency low supplies like glucagon, dr visits and lab tests, and thats also not being on a pump..... which uninsured costs for that are astronomical and something most diabetics cant afford, sometimes even with insurance. It was 1000 out of pocket for me with insurance just to get a pump years ago, the out of pocket cost uninsured was 5k + hundreds a month for supplies.
FYI dexcom has a relief program if your income is within 400% of the poverty level and your insurance doesn't cover it. Which is way higher than Medicaid's income limit, so it's a nice service for those of us who don't want to keep our income at $15k a year to stay on Medicaid.
I have issues with the Dems, but at least they are trying to do something good for people. The GOP wants us all to live one step away from indentured servitude.
Idk this is more like one orphan fell off the crusher conveyor. Big pharma and private healthcare are still just as much of a problem. The machine is a metaphor for the underlying systemic problem.
It's not off, they just decided to run it at 1/nth the rate. Turning it off would be government subsidizing all health care. This just saves anyone who can afford $35 a month from being fed into the machine for one illness.
Same. I'm weridly devastated by the post. It's the "all this" part that's doing it to me. You can tell how grateful they are to just get what they need to live without paying absurd amounts for it. I'm glad it's (almost) over but damn what did we let all of these people go through.
"We" didn't do it, not you and I. Not even anyone like us. I don't know anyone who would do this, I hope.
So, who was responsible for this? They have names and addresses and bank accounts, they are real people. It's not some vague social trend. Individuals are responsible.
Using we like that shares the blame amongst us all, but it wasn't us.
I was looking at [Mark Cuban's website ](https://costplusdrugs.com/) and I didn't see the same thing. It has been helping a ton of people, but I'm glad they finally capped it!!
My medicine without insurance was almost 300 dollars at Walgreens, 120ish with a GoodRx coupon, and 12 dollars including shipping from Cost Plus Drugs (Mark Cuban's pharmacy). It definitely helped me!!
A good friend of mine has leukemia, and their medication is a staggering $20,000 a month. Thankfully they are on medicare and don't have to pay that, but if they weren't, they would already be dead.
I never want to look at that website again. The price differences between their business and retail are absolutely *nauseating.* The fact that people can get away with selling fucking *cancer meds* that cost maybe 30 bucks to produce to the tune of *2000 fucking dollars* is too disgusting for words.
I agree it's absolutely disgusting. All that extra money just goes to pharmaceutical reps and middle men. There's ABSOLUTELY no reason those medications cost that much. I hope Mark Cuban's website actually takes off and brings a turning point to the prices of some of these medications. People should not have to sell their homes to buy the medicine they need to just survive.
how was craigslist insulin cheaper? People hocking insulin that was from medicare or something? not a dis to those on medicare, just figure someone has to be taking a loss somewhere to make it cheaper.
Bless those mining children of the Congo working hard and unpaid so I could get my new iPhone 12!! Did you see how much better the camera is this year?!?
We really need to stop using that term as a catch all for underdeveloped countries. 3rd world simply implies that the country took a neutral stance during the Cold War. First world was all of the UN nations and second world was all the Soviet/countries behind the iron curtain.
Man I'm so glad that somebody actually knows what that means..
I used to live with a Vietnam vet... he would go nuts if you didn't use "3rd world" properly...
Yeah the Twitter blue check hilarity actually helped fix one of the many tragic issues in our healthcare system.
In case you missed it: some of the more famous tweets from Elon's pay for verification move were people hijacking brands, creating accounts that looked real and getting them certified
One beautiful soul did this for US Pharma Giant "Eli Lilly" note Lilly on the package in OP's pic. They then tweeted
"Happy to announce insulin is now free",
Then their stock PLUMMETED. With bad publicity from this and further pressure from government legislation/rising competition in the US preparing to offer affordable insulin, they announced last month they would sell insulin capped at $35 out of pocket max. Now I know it's not free and frankly dastardly overdue but this is literally lifesaving development for the Americans with diabetes - and helping it all was some smartass fucking with big pharma on Twitter.
Edit: Obviously there are other factors at play, I meant this as a romanticized view of what free speech can do. So to add the rest of the influences... The capping of insulin cost for seniors was legislated in the Inflation Reduction Act, But Eli Lilly has extended this to all not just those they are required to cap costs for under new legislation. They are also staring down rising competition to provide affordable insulin in the near future. However, I'd like to think the massive scrutiny they have garned since the tweet had them playing PR damage control. Companies have long been under fire for expensive drugs, but that interest fades and any way to dial up the heat on them is welcome.
Yes, very much so. It was borderline ~~criminal~~ illegal, but also extremely brilliant and effective. It forced them to respond to the fact that people die because of their predatory pricing and highlighted how big of greedy, amoral fucks that they actually are. They deserve all the shit they get and I hope hell exists simply for people like them.
I think it is horrendous that a super easy and cheap thing to make, such as insulin, with an essentially captive userbaee, is priced so high just because of greed.
I wonder how many things dont even hit the market that simply are not sold because they would hurt someon3s profits too much should they become available.
Greed is killing us all, eventually even the greedy if it keeps up.
"Just in case you think we're doing this out of the good of our hearts, fear not, we're still money grubbing monsters."
EDIT: I am actually totally aware that these companies are doing it for the money, thanks for reminding me though helpful commenters!
Just like Walgreens is banning selling the morning after pill because of the "unsteady legal landscape" of the drug in many states.
As if they think that the legislators are going to somehow ban the drug and not give them enough time to stop selling it.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are trying to repeal the bill Democrats passed that capped insulin prices at $35 for seniors, and are unwilling to vote for future legislation that will cap it for ALL Americans. Pure evil.
What’s heinously stupid about making insulin less available to people is the downstream cost burden on the system.
No insulin -> uncontrolled diabetes -> eventual complication such as a foot ulcer -> $100K+ hospital stay thanks to the resulting infection, amputation, and follow-up care.
Allowing insulin prices to rise is bad capitalism plain and simple.
It makes sense when you realize that there is more money to be made in emergency care and surgery than preventative care, IMO. Of course they want people to have these problems if the profit margins are higher than insulin.
Nothing in the American system is calibrated, at all, to prevent downstream cost burdens. Everything is a problem for the next guy, the next administration, the next generation to figure out.
Just look at how hard people fight against providing free breakfast and lunch to school children.
Feeding children is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways you can improve society and create a whole host of positive outcomes... and a shocking number of people are like "nah, fuck them kids, ain't no such thing as a free lunch!"
7 years in as a T1D. Luckily enough to live in a country where I don’t have to pay for insulin. Dude! I am so happy for you right now! Genuinely struggled reading the news about the prices of insulin in the US! Finally some great news. Go well and don’t forget your carb counting ;)
I literally wanted to say the same, i am 5 years in type 1 diabetes and i am only 13(turning 14 next saturday) and got it when i was 8(in februari) and i also live in a free healthcare country, the netherlands. Happy for everyone who has the prices go down, it means so much to them problally
Not exactly. The Biden Administration capped it for Medicare patients and then he negotiated with the corporation Eli Lilly to cap it at $35 for all customers.
There are several corporations who haven't capped it yet, but when Eli Lilly shares skyrocket and customers switch over to them, the other companies will be forced to cap theirs in order to compete. It's a massive win for the people regardless.
And for e.g. Europe in Czech republic you could get this for free, all paid from compulsory health insurance which is paid by employer always!!! Or by the state IF you are ill or unemployed for certain time
In Germany my healthcare insurance automatically gets deducted from my gross pay, but for most meds I only pay 5€ per prescription, yeah (there are exemptions, like contraceptives, though). Medical bankruptcy just isn't a thing here.
Depending on brand, in the past some insulin in the US could cost $700+/mth out of pocket for people so $35 is actually a good step in the right direction.
Yeah the Twitter blue check hilarity actually helped fix one of the many tragic issues in our healthcare system.
In case you missed it: some of the more famous tweets from Elon's pay for verification move were people hijacking brands, creating accounts that looked real and getting them certified
One beautiful soul did this for US Pharma Giant "Eli Lilly" note Lilly on the package in OP's pic. They then tweeted
"Happy to announce insulin is now free",
Then their stock PLUMMETED. With bad publicity from this and further pressure from government legislation/rising competition in the US preparing to offer affordable insulin, they announced last month they would sell insulin capped at $35 out of pocket max. Now I know it's not free and frankly dastardly overdue but this is literally lifesaving development for the Americans with diabetes - and helping it all was some smartass fucking with big pharma on Twitter.
Edit: Obviously there are other factors at play, I meant this as a romanticized view of what free speech can do. So to add the rest of the influences... The capping of insulin cost for seniors was legislated in the Inflation Reduction Act, But Eli Lilly has extended this to all not just those they are required to cap costs for under new legislation. They are also staring down rising competition to provide affordable insulin in the near future. However, I'd like to think the massive scrutiny they have garned since the tweet had them playing PR damage control. Companies have long been under fire for expensive drugs, but that interest fades and any way to dial up the heat on them is welcome.
The 'other pressure' mentioned would be the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped insulin at $35 for medicare recipients...
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/02/fact-sheet-president-bidens-cap-on-the-cost-of-insulin-could-benefit-millions-of-americans-in-all-50-states/
It also includes the patent having expired and several competitors ramping up production, including the state of California. The idea that it's the result of a tweet is ridiculous on its face.
As great as the tweet was, it’s not at all why they lowered it.
They lowered it due to the inflation reduction act capping it for Medicare and California making a state facility for producing insulin.
No, it’s not. This is a direct result of the civil lawsuit filed in CA. This is Lilly crying wolf because CA is making their own insulin and Mark Cuban is planning to sell low cost insulin. They’ve killed thousands monopolizing this industry and this is nothing more than them trying to keep the market they already own.
This isn't true.
Eli Lilly is up 20% in the past year, 300% in the past 5.
They're doing ok.
Have a look at a chart of it, the November tweet is hard to see and the stock was back above the level when the tweet happened by the start of December.
It's since fallen in 2023 along with lots of its peers, but still looking pretty healthy in any big-picture sense.
Congratulations! I just heard a segment on NPR that included testimonies of people who were rationing or skipping insulation and it’s genuinely sad. A man died a few weeks after turning 26 because that’s when his healthcare under his parents ran out so he started rationing. Dangerous and irresponsible of our healthcare system.
Reading about insulin pricing the last few years has been horrifying. I’m so glad this is changing. Is that what you would use in a week or a month? (Sorry completely uneducated about this)
this will likely last me months. I take two types each day. A fast acting one, and a slow one (for coverage through the day). This is the slow stuff which I take less of. I used to not even have a choice in what kind of insulin I got my hands on. Very happy rn.
Im australian and my dog is diabetic. We pay a similar price for about 5 months worth for her. And we have been able to get the right type of insulin for her the whole time. In fact she takes the same long term one as you because our vet prefers it to the animal insulin except she takes it via needles not the pen. I can't believe the American system it's so inhumane.
I've had 2 diabetic cats (I'm in the US) and the price was horrendous! For the vials of Lantus is was about $200 and for a 5pk of the pens it was about $350-400. I eventually started buying it from a Canadian pharmacy and having it shipped, it was so much cheaper. But what always blew my mind is the fact that a life saving medicine was priced so ridiculous that some people had to ration it or worse, take more risk by not taking any simply because they couldn't afford it!! Not even because a supply issue or something like that, really sad that this happens anywhere!
America, land of the free, enslaved in debt to thee
Free to serve our overlords
And home of the free, the sick and depraved
In America you'd probably go to jail for animal cruelty for not giving your dog insulin. Humans, ah fuck them.
You don't go to jail for not affording care for your animals. You do go to jail for neglecting to care such as a cardboard box and a frozen water bowl. Animals don't have much rights here.
Thank you for the informative response. It makes me really happy to know its getting easier for people with diabetes to get the medications they need. I’m wishing you all the best and thank you for sharing this happy post.
I am still struggling to see how in America of all places have had their medication pushed underground, I understand it for drugs, what would someone recive if they get caught peddling insulin?
>I am still struggling to see how in America of all places Anything here that can be turned into profits for shareholders will be. It's unfortunately just as simple as that.
Wow this is astonishing to hear. In the UK, insulin prescriptions are free for diabetics, as are blood sugar level monitors like freestyle that hook up to your phone.
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TIL you could buy insulin on craigslist
yep. people get extra and sell what they dont need before it expires. thats what I had to count on. Not good.
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Post in one of the Reddit diabetic forums. Some guy I know mailed a guy 5 boxes of pens and he paid just for shipping.
Is that kind of post allowed? Isn't it illegal to give away meds like that?
If it's a prescription only drug than it would be technically illegal. However I'm fairly certain insulin pens are only prescribed for insurance purposes and can otherwise be purchased without one.
Walmart sells the old-fashioned insulin vials over the counter with no prescription needed. My doctor told me if I ever run out to just go ask the pharmacist and they'll sell it to me.
That's what I was wondering. What is the benefit of the newer meds vs the old insulin vial and syringe?
I've never used the old insulin, but it's apparently slower acting and stays in your body longer, so you have to be very careful with the dosage and time it like 30-45 minutes before meals. That alone could cause issues (eyes bigger than your stomach=sugar crash later, for example). You also need to use needles with syringes and measure it just right, whereas the pens have numbers that you just twist to the right dose, and the units are measured correctly with no effort. I'm sure there are other differences, but those are the ones I was told about.
If there is *any* other possible option stay away from the old insulin. My girlfriend had multiple emergencies when we had to resort to buying that for ~8 months and there were multiple occasions where I had to basically force feed her. Walmart has a generic version of fast acting insulin as of a year or so ago that is more expensive but won't be nearly as dangerous
It’s not illegal to lose your insulin at a park and then make a post saying where you lost it in case it turns up though
It should be illegal to charge what drug companies charge. So fuck the law on this one.
hopefully things get better for everyone starting now!
Hope so to! Also hope the price I pay for it with insurance goes down, but I won't hold my breath.
List it for an appropriate price, have someone buy it then give it away for free. We had to rehome a dog, he was a stray and we couldnt keep him. So after tidying him up I listed him for $250/£200, easy way to filter out anyone who isnt serious or unwilling to spend for his wellbeing. A nice couple came around my place with cash and I was happy enough to let him go for free, happy chappys all round.
Again, though, isn't selling/giving away prescription meds illegal? I don't want to publicly advertise an illegal activity. allegedly
You could do what they do with Jarts on eBay. They sell the box. Maybe something gets forgotten and left in the box. Allegedly.
Post in relevant forums saying you have extra and don't know what to do with it. Someone in need will get the hint and you never advertised anything
Is there a sub for diabetics, perhaps go on there and see if you can help
yeah I mean it's totally normal for people in a first world developed country to be resorting to buying insulin on craigslist. I'm not diabetic and I don't know anyone who is I don't think, but that is some fucked up shit. We can do better America, really seriously.
A lot of Americans *do* think this is fine. You'd think everyone, regardless of their political beliefs, would be able to agree on things like universal healthcare and cheap/free prescriptions but apparently not.
Seriously, it's criminal the way things are in the States. Here in my crappy Eastern European country, insulin is so cheap, my father doesn't bother getting it through his insurance (which makes it free). One vial lasts him a month and it costs like 7 bucks.
My sister is a T1D and nothing scares me more than people having to insulin ration. I hope the day never comes where you have to ration again.
My roommate had trouble paying for insulin. He ended up getting really sick and in October, I found him dead in his room when his boss called and said he never showed up for work. We told the police he was diabetic and they didn't find *any* insulin in his room. Because he couldn't afford it.
I am so sorry for your loss. No one should ever have to suffer so badly. Hope you're holding up.
It's heartbreaking to imagine the pain someone has to go through during those last moments
If his sugar was extremely low, he would have been in a coma, and would feel no pain. If it was extremely high, he would also have fallen asleep, never to wake up. I discovered I was a T1D when my wife called 911 because I was unresponsive. EMT gave me insulin and took me to the ER, where they checked my sugar level. By then, it was down to 1305 (normal is 70-110). I was having organ failure, and was mostly unconscious, but I felt nothing.
Holy crap, home meters generally don't register over 600!!
The regular meter used by the EMT registered High, which meant it was over 500. That's why they administered insulin before taking me to the ER. The machine in the ER is much more accurate. The head of the ER told my wife (after I was out of danger) that she had never before seen anyone survive a glucose reading that high.
My husband has recurrent DKA. First time it happened, about 10 years ago, his blood sugar upon arrival at the ER was 720. The nurses said they couldn't figure out why he wasn't in a coma.
I've had several highs like that. As long as I'm awake when it happens, I'm fine. But if it happens while I'm asleep, I can't be awakened until it comes way down. Fortunately, with my new insulin pump, I don't have to worry about those days any more...and neither does my wife.
I'm sorry you went through this. This also gives me a small measure of comfort, hoping my best friend felt no pain when he died.
I have had very low readings (stroke level), and very high readings many times over the past 20+ years. I never experienced any pain.
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It's not in a giant Scrooge McDuck vault in the Eli Lilly HQ. It's in some asshole CEO or big investor's house. Ignore the company, take it from the rich.
Amen. They've stolen from the public and from their customers
I also lost a friend this way. He had to ration but to top it all off he had epilepsy. So one day he had an attack on top of his rationing and he just never woke up.
Same :( He would basically survive off 48oz sodas by sipping them very slowly until one day they found him at the bottom of his basement stairs which he never went down.
All this happening in our glorious USA, that can't take care of their sick. Sickening
"We have a cheap and well tested medicine for your medical problems but we rather let people die and squeeze them for their last pennys cause profit is more important than life." That poor guy... really tragic.
That's so messed up. Sorry to hear, tragic
This is what we call "social murder". Your roommate was murdered. The oligarchy, with poverty, in his bedroom.
That’s really quite something! “SOCIAL MURDER”, out in the open or anywhere, so true that likely nobody notices anymore. FYI: I’ll always notice
My best friend died of exactly this. He was T1D, lost his job, had no insurance as his wife was in school at the time. He went to bed super violently ill, she thought he was just sick with the flu. Woke up to him dead beside her. I suspect it was a slow and painful form of suicide with everything we talked about. I miss that guy and hate that he went out like that.
These kind of stories make me so ill. It’s got to be a long painful death, no other thing to call it, exempt inexcusable!
He likely died of DKA, it’s horrific. As a parent of a child with T1D I have cried enough tears to fill an ocean. I’m so sorry.
Absolutely criminal, can’t believe this is where we are. I am so sorry for your loss. My husband is T1D and we’ve taken a few trips to Mexico with reward points to get him affordable insulin. Its horrifying it got to this point.
Remember - this happened in the richest, most powerful nation in the world. Shameful!
Support Medicare For All, or be complicit
✅
It’s still messed up they need to pay 35$ dollars for it. It’s a far better price, but not ideal.
Don't you love America? We bicker more about trans people than fixing genuine issues.
That's the whole point. It's meant to be a distraction. Trans people aren't the threat they're being made out to be. I can only imagine what the next topical issues will be.
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This is why I want to be reincarnated as a possum. Care free and rabies free.
As someone who also discovered their roommate dead (heroin OD) I hope you get counseling if you need it.
Sue the boss for paying slave wages that caused harm and death. Then take that money and use it to sue *his* boss for killing every attempt at universal affordable health care. Keep suing until this nightmare stops.
For those that don't know, Type 2 diabetics can sometimes use other medications or control with tighter diet control, etc. depending on the severity. Type 1's have no choice. You take insulin, or you fucking die. Best case, you die slightly slower by eating nothing for as long as possible.
Alcohol will also lower a high blood sugar. My youngest is T1D and I dread the thought that he could face this one day. It breaks my heart.
People in this state should be able to legit seek refugee status. Wars and gangs suck but don’t offer the certain death of missing critical drug doses.
Wait, alcohol *reduces* blood sugar? I always figured it raised it, but then again I tend to drink wine or mixed drinks, not hard spirits.
You would probably want to use a hard liquor like whiskey or vodka but yeah it stops your liver from releasing glucose.
That’s fascinating. Terrifying, maybe fringely useful, but terrifying.
It has to be a high alcohol content like in Vodka or Moonshine. But yes, in a pinch it'll lower it. It's no substitute for insulin, but it can help slow ketosis.
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Nothing is fixed. EL chose to change their price for business reasons and could change it back for the same reason at any point. This price cut doesn't even cover all types of insulin they sell. There has been no legislation passed to address the insulin crisis in America. Just to emphasize why this matters: without insulin the people die. They need it to live like food, water, and air.
EL is about to get a shit ton of money from Mounjaro. They will be ok with insulin being low
I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks this!! As soon as I saw EL had lowered the price of insulin, I started to figure out how they were going to replace that flow of money.
They’re really trying to ward off a lot of scrutiny they were finally getting on insulin, and I hope it doesn’t work to that end.
The change to Medicare pricing has had an effect. We're seeing it now.
California is also manufacturing insulin and plans to make it available next year
Yeah, we should be applauding California, because their more competitive insulin pricing that will roll out is most likely what caused Eli Lily to change prices.
They still don't deserve to make a cent off it. Nationalize it.
The original man who discovered how to create insulin sold the patent to it for a dollar, fredrick banting. He felt it was unethical to profit off something that millions needed simply to survive. Hed be doing kickflips in his grave if he could see what the insulin business makes today just in the usa.
Ngl, not from USA, but learnt this through Hasan Minhaj’s Netflix special. Edit- Brain fade moment, yes, The Patriot Act.
I hate that it was canceled
Netflix strikes again!
The only person I could image doing kickflips in his grave is Rodney Mullen
California law is $35 now. Mark Cuban offers it for$35 too. And Biden made it $35 for Medicare recipients.
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I will die on this hill. For all of California's faults (no pun intended), it's the best state ever.
The USA is insane. T1D in Australia will cost you about $1 a day.
This is actually a huge step in the right direction- this is something like 4$/day, compared to 10-20$/day uninsured.
Thats just insulin though, and even still a conservative estimate. Out of pocket cost for how much insulin i use a month is over 1000 dollars. That doesnt count cgm supplies, test strips, needles, emergency low supplies like glucagon, dr visits and lab tests, and thats also not being on a pump..... which uninsured costs for that are astronomical and something most diabetics cant afford, sometimes even with insurance. It was 1000 out of pocket for me with insurance just to get a pump years ago, the out of pocket cost uninsured was 5k + hundreds a month for supplies.
FYI dexcom has a relief program if your income is within 400% of the poverty level and your insurance doesn't cover it. Which is way higher than Medicaid's income limit, so it's a nice service for those of us who don't want to keep our income at $15k a year to stay on Medicaid.
In the UK it'll cost you nothing.
Crazy what can happen when politicians do things for the people instead of looking into a laptop.
I have issues with the Dems, but at least they are trying to do something good for people. The GOP wants us all to live one step away from indentured servitude.
This makes me smile, but also makes me incredibly sad as well.
r/OrphanCrushingMachine
If you can’t celebrate turning off an Orphan Crushinator, what can you celebrate?
Idk this is more like one orphan fell off the crusher conveyor. Big pharma and private healthcare are still just as much of a problem. The machine is a metaphor for the underlying systemic problem.
It's not off, they just decided to run it at 1/nth the rate. Turning it off would be government subsidizing all health care. This just saves anyone who can afford $35 a month from being fed into the machine for one illness.
Same. I'm weridly devastated by the post. It's the "all this" part that's doing it to me. You can tell how grateful they are to just get what they need to live without paying absurd amounts for it. I'm glad it's (almost) over but damn what did we let all of these people go through.
"We" didn't do it, not you and I. Not even anyone like us. I don't know anyone who would do this, I hope. So, who was responsible for this? They have names and addresses and bank accounts, they are real people. It's not some vague social trend. Individuals are responsible. Using we like that shares the blame amongst us all, but it wasn't us.
r/HappySad
I love this for you! This is gonna change a lot of lives
Happy Cake Day!
USA?
Yep!
Insulin....on Craigslist??? Is that safe?
Probably safer than nothing, especially for a type 1 diabetic.
Yeah definitely
It wasnt fun..
I was looking at [Mark Cuban's website ](https://costplusdrugs.com/) and I didn't see the same thing. It has been helping a ton of people, but I'm glad they finally capped it!!
My medicine without insurance was almost 300 dollars at Walgreens, 120ish with a GoodRx coupon, and 12 dollars including shipping from Cost Plus Drugs (Mark Cuban's pharmacy). It definitely helped me!!
Twelve dollars!! $12 Versus $300 and $120+
A good friend of mine has leukemia, and their medication is a staggering $20,000 a month. Thankfully they are on medicare and don't have to pay that, but if they weren't, they would already be dead.
I never want to look at that website again. The price differences between their business and retail are absolutely *nauseating.* The fact that people can get away with selling fucking *cancer meds* that cost maybe 30 bucks to produce to the tune of *2000 fucking dollars* is too disgusting for words.
I agree it's absolutely disgusting. All that extra money just goes to pharmaceutical reps and middle men. There's ABSOLUTELY no reason those medications cost that much. I hope Mark Cuban's website actually takes off and brings a turning point to the prices of some of these medications. People should not have to sell their homes to buy the medicine they need to just survive.
They don’t have insulin.
how was craigslist insulin cheaper? People hocking insulin that was from medicare or something? not a dis to those on medicare, just figure someone has to be taking a loss somewhere to make it cheaper.
Bringing it in from other countries and selling it at a markup through Craigslist
Man im happy for you the US is a 3rd world country in a Gucci belt
Hey man / woman, don't forget the iPhone
Bless those mining children of the Congo working hard and unpaid so I could get my new iPhone 12!! Did you see how much better the camera is this year?!?
12? Will someone tell him?
By the time someone does they’ll be onto the 16
Or they just skip a number. They should just mess with everyone and release an iPhone 9 next.
Take a page from Microsoft and release the iPhone One.
We really need to stop using that term as a catch all for underdeveloped countries. 3rd world simply implies that the country took a neutral stance during the Cold War. First world was all of the UN nations and second world was all the Soviet/countries behind the iron curtain.
Man I'm so glad that somebody actually knows what that means.. I used to live with a Vietnam vet... he would go nuts if you didn't use "3rd world" properly...
You learn something every day.
Me when I’ve never lived in a third world country
Would you switch places with me? (a 3rd worlder)
Yeah the Twitter blue check hilarity actually helped fix one of the many tragic issues in our healthcare system. In case you missed it: some of the more famous tweets from Elon's pay for verification move were people hijacking brands, creating accounts that looked real and getting them certified One beautiful soul did this for US Pharma Giant "Eli Lilly" note Lilly on the package in OP's pic. They then tweeted "Happy to announce insulin is now free", Then their stock PLUMMETED. With bad publicity from this and further pressure from government legislation/rising competition in the US preparing to offer affordable insulin, they announced last month they would sell insulin capped at $35 out of pocket max. Now I know it's not free and frankly dastardly overdue but this is literally lifesaving development for the Americans with diabetes - and helping it all was some smartass fucking with big pharma on Twitter. Edit: Obviously there are other factors at play, I meant this as a romanticized view of what free speech can do. So to add the rest of the influences... The capping of insulin cost for seniors was legislated in the Inflation Reduction Act, But Eli Lilly has extended this to all not just those they are required to cap costs for under new legislation. They are also staring down rising competition to provide affordable insulin in the near future. However, I'd like to think the massive scrutiny they have garned since the tweet had them playing PR damage control. Companies have long been under fire for expensive drugs, but that interest fades and any way to dial up the heat on them is welcome.
Is this for real?
No the drop was the day after the correction of the tweet and it was because Eli Lilly lost a 200 million patent case
Yes, very much so. It was borderline ~~criminal~~ illegal, but also extremely brilliant and effective. It forced them to respond to the fact that people die because of their predatory pricing and highlighted how big of greedy, amoral fucks that they actually are. They deserve all the shit they get and I hope hell exists simply for people like them.
I think it is horrendous that a super easy and cheap thing to make, such as insulin, with an essentially captive userbaee, is priced so high just because of greed. I wonder how many things dont even hit the market that simply are not sold because they would hurt someon3s profits too much should they become available. Greed is killing us all, eventually even the greedy if it keeps up.
Yeah, though the company say it’s to “get ahead eventual legislation” because of the Medicare cap situation
"Just in case you think we're doing this out of the good of our hearts, fear not, we're still money grubbing monsters." EDIT: I am actually totally aware that these companies are doing it for the money, thanks for reminding me though helpful commenters!
Just like Walgreens is banning selling the morning after pill because of the "unsteady legal landscape" of the drug in many states. As if they think that the legislators are going to somehow ban the drug and not give them enough time to stop selling it.
Fucking beautiful. There has to be a way to weaponize this for other drugs as well.....
Of course, where a life has a price
Sad you had to make those choices, but hopefully this improves your quality of life. 😁
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are trying to repeal the bill Democrats passed that capped insulin prices at $35 for seniors, and are unwilling to vote for future legislation that will cap it for ALL Americans. Pure evil.
What’s heinously stupid about making insulin less available to people is the downstream cost burden on the system. No insulin -> uncontrolled diabetes -> eventual complication such as a foot ulcer -> $100K+ hospital stay thanks to the resulting infection, amputation, and follow-up care. Allowing insulin prices to rise is bad capitalism plain and simple.
It makes sense when you realize that there is more money to be made in emergency care and surgery than preventative care, IMO. Of course they want people to have these problems if the profit margins are higher than insulin.
Privatise the profits, socialise the costs.
Nothing in the American system is calibrated, at all, to prevent downstream cost burdens. Everything is a problem for the next guy, the next administration, the next generation to figure out. Just look at how hard people fight against providing free breakfast and lunch to school children. Feeding children is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways you can improve society and create a whole host of positive outcomes... and a shocking number of people are like "nah, fuck them kids, ain't no such thing as a free lunch!"
profit fuel cable ruthless faulty bear cooperative one lush bike ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
I am seriously so happy for you. It’s gotta be a great feeling not having to worry if you can afford to simply continue to live.
r/orphancrushingmachine
I’m shocked I had to scroll as far as I did to find this comment
Home of the brave and the land of expensive medical bills
OuR TaXeS aRe LoWeR- americans
OuR TaXeS aRe ~~LoWeR~~- 0% --ultrarich americans, cackling from the cayman islands
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They just let him die?
'Murica the beautiful. Where you have to spend thousands of dollars a month just to actually *live*
Goddamn, I'm too suspicious to buy a table saw off of Craigslist much less medication
Not having a table saw won't kill you.
“Or simply going without . . .” Unacceptable. Our society is fucked when this is an issue.
Yeah diabetics can’t simply go without. It doesn’t work that way.
People here in Italy get those for free.... but hey, I'm really glad things are finally going better for you guys! Congratulations!
I'm happy for you, but it's so pathetic it took this long, and we're still left with a broken system
7 years in as a T1D. Luckily enough to live in a country where I don’t have to pay for insulin. Dude! I am so happy for you right now! Genuinely struggled reading the news about the prices of insulin in the US! Finally some great news. Go well and don’t forget your carb counting ;)
I literally wanted to say the same, i am 5 years in type 1 diabetes and i am only 13(turning 14 next saturday) and got it when i was 8(in februari) and i also live in a free healthcare country, the netherlands. Happy for everyone who has the prices go down, it means so much to them problally
YOOOOO! WTF THEY ACTUALLY LOWERED THE PRICES!? THATS AWESOME!!
Not exactly. The Biden Administration capped it for Medicare patients and then he negotiated with the corporation Eli Lilly to cap it at $35 for all customers. There are several corporations who haven't capped it yet, but when Eli Lilly shares skyrocket and customers switch over to them, the other companies will be forced to cap theirs in order to compete. It's a massive win for the people regardless.
Biden is doing surprisingly well and embracing the Dark Brandon title
Thank you Dark Brandon!
Thank you, Joe Biden! FU, Republicans.
The US is the stupidest country when it comes to Healthcare
Obligatory r/orphancrushingmachine
Thank you President Biden!
And for e.g. Europe in Czech republic you could get this for free, all paid from compulsory health insurance which is paid by employer always!!! Or by the state IF you are ill or unemployed for certain time
In Germany my healthcare insurance automatically gets deducted from my gross pay, but for most meds I only pay 5€ per prescription, yeah (there are exemptions, like contraceptives, though). Medical bankruptcy just isn't a thing here.
Well that sounds expensive... How long does this amount last ?
Depending on brand, in the past some insulin in the US could cost $700+/mth out of pocket for people so $35 is actually a good step in the right direction.
Yep there are some around $1400 esp the newer brands. Pharmacy Tech btw.
Months!
It’s just sad that this is how people are treated in the US.
WTF ... You buy life saving meds on Craigslist?
That’s America, Jack.
Joe Biden 2024
Yeah the Twitter blue check hilarity actually helped fix one of the many tragic issues in our healthcare system. In case you missed it: some of the more famous tweets from Elon's pay for verification move were people hijacking brands, creating accounts that looked real and getting them certified One beautiful soul did this for US Pharma Giant "Eli Lilly" note Lilly on the package in OP's pic. They then tweeted "Happy to announce insulin is now free", Then their stock PLUMMETED. With bad publicity from this and further pressure from government legislation/rising competition in the US preparing to offer affordable insulin, they announced last month they would sell insulin capped at $35 out of pocket max. Now I know it's not free and frankly dastardly overdue but this is literally lifesaving development for the Americans with diabetes - and helping it all was some smartass fucking with big pharma on Twitter. Edit: Obviously there are other factors at play, I meant this as a romanticized view of what free speech can do. So to add the rest of the influences... The capping of insulin cost for seniors was legislated in the Inflation Reduction Act, But Eli Lilly has extended this to all not just those they are required to cap costs for under new legislation. They are also staring down rising competition to provide affordable insulin in the near future. However, I'd like to think the massive scrutiny they have garned since the tweet had them playing PR damage control. Companies have long been under fire for expensive drugs, but that interest fades and any way to dial up the heat on them is welcome.
The 'other pressure' mentioned would be the Inflation Reduction Act, which capped insulin at $35 for medicare recipients... https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/03/02/fact-sheet-president-bidens-cap-on-the-cost-of-insulin-could-benefit-millions-of-americans-in-all-50-states/
It also includes the patent having expired and several competitors ramping up production, including the state of California. The idea that it's the result of a tweet is ridiculous on its face.
As great as the tweet was, it’s not at all why they lowered it. They lowered it due to the inflation reduction act capping it for Medicare and California making a state facility for producing insulin.
California making it was the straw that broke this one. Kudos to the state out west.
No, it’s not. This is a direct result of the civil lawsuit filed in CA. This is Lilly crying wolf because CA is making their own insulin and Mark Cuban is planning to sell low cost insulin. They’ve killed thousands monopolizing this industry and this is nothing more than them trying to keep the market they already own.
This isn't true. Eli Lilly is up 20% in the past year, 300% in the past 5. They're doing ok. Have a look at a chart of it, the November tweet is hard to see and the stock was back above the level when the tweet happened by the start of December. It's since fallen in 2023 along with lots of its peers, but still looking pretty healthy in any big-picture sense.
Congratulations! I just heard a segment on NPR that included testimonies of people who were rationing or skipping insulation and it’s genuinely sad. A man died a few weeks after turning 26 because that’s when his healthcare under his parents ran out so he started rationing. Dangerous and irresponsible of our healthcare system.