Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps cost of insulin at $35 per month

Relief is on the way for diabetes patients crushed with paying high costs for insulin: A major drugmaker is cutting prices and expanding a cap on costs for those with and without insurance.

An ad from Eli Lilly displays its new pricing for insulin, capping out-of-pocket costs for diabetes patients at $35 per month. That would slash prices of its most commonly prescribed insulins by at least 70%.

The out-of-pocket cost cap of $35 went into effect immediately following Eli Lilly’s announcement earlier on Wednesday. This means people spending hundreds of dollars for a one-month supply of insulin will now have an easier time making ends meet.

WINK News spoke with people saying it’s about time insulin became affordable. WINK News also heard from a pharmacist about how you can see those savings.

“It kind of comes out of the bills and stuff like that,” Fort Myers resident Jacari Thornton said.

“Especially something like that, that is a necessity, I think that everybody should be able to afford that,” Fort Myers resident Gary Scicluna said.

For many people, affording insulin means scaling back and barely making ends meet. This price cap is a big deal for people like Thornton’s cousin.

“It will take care of a lot of extra stuff that needs to get done around the house versus what it’s already going towards,” Thornton said.

“I have patients that are paying hundreds of dollars every month for their insulin, for something that they need that they can’t live without,” said Justin Ceravolo, a Cypress Pharmacy pharmacist.

“This could definitely have a domino effect. All these other companies that are making insulin I imagine will follow suit, especially because they’re going to lose a lot of business with the patients just switching over to the Eli Lilly company,” Ceravolo said.

The price cap isn’t just for people with Medicare. It will benefit people with private insurance and even people without insurance.

“There are differences between the insulins… how long they take effect on you, how long they last in your body. So, if there’s not an equivalent, then you have to get the doctor to switch it to an Eli Lilly product,” Ceravolo said.

Ceravolo told WINK News if you’re not prescribed an Eli Lilly insulin product, and you would like to be, you should speak with your doctor about switching.

Ceravolo said pharmacists could also call your doctor on your behalf and see if switching is possible.

Click here if you don’t have insurance to see how you can sign up to qualify for the price cap.