Prescription Drug Costs

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced the INSULIN Act, a federal bill that would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month for Americans with private insurance and create a pilot program in 10 states to offer more affordable insulin to uninsured patients. Sponsored by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D‑N.H.), Raphael Warnock (D‑Ga.), Susan Collins (R‑Maine) and John Kennedy (R‑La.), the measure aims to extend protections similar to the Inflation Reduction Act’s $35 Medicare cap to working‑age diabetics who currently face widely varying costs. The bill comes as about 8.1 million Americans use insulin, including more than 2 million with Type 1 diabetes who cannot live without it, and as half of states have passed their own caps that still leave out roughly 57% of privately insured people in self‑funded plans. Major manufacturers Eli Lilly, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk have announced list‑price cuts and co‑pay caps, but advocates and clinicians say many patients still struggle to navigate complex discount programs or lack coverage altogether. The proposal faces fiscal and political hurdles in a Republican‑controlled Congress, yet is being touted as one of the few plausible bipartisan wins on health care costs in a year when voters are fuming about medical bills and drug prices.