WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was in Watertown Tuesday afternoon to introduce a new plan to help with the cost of insulin.
According to the New York Democrat, 45,000 people in the north country are currently living with diabetes.
Schumer says a new bipartisan plan would both cap the cost of insulin and limit drug manufacturers’ ability to raise the price of the drug.
He said he’ll call for a Senate vote to decrease the amount Americans pay out-of-pocket for insulin from $300 to $600 per prescription to a maximum of $35 per month.
“This is a key area where people are middle class, hard-working, and could afford the old price and now can’t afford the price as it goes up,” said Schumer.
“Ten percent of individuals in Jefferson County have diabetes and we know that many of those individuals are on insulin. So removing this cost barrier to them will have a significant impact on them being able to afford their monthly medication,” said Joey Marie Horton, CEO, North County Family Health
The cost of insulin has nearly doubled in the last ten years.
Diabetes is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, claiming more than 100,000 lives in 2021.
It’s also the most expensive chronic condition in the nation, costing a total of $327 billion per year.
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