Every diabetic should have easy and affordable access to life-saving insulin. There shouldn’t even be a debate about it. However, many diabetics living in the United States find themselves paying an arm and a leg each month just to buy life-saving insulin. Prices in the US are sky-high compared to the rest of the developed world and Americans are fed up with what amounts to pretty much financial extortion, led by pharmaceutical, and insurance companies.
Even before you look at the immense human suffering high insulin prices cause—for instance, with people choosing to endanger their health by rationing what little insulin they have or even going without any—all it takes a casual glance at the stats to see that there’s something fishy going on. Forbes explains that while the US represents only 15 percent of the global insulin market, it actually generates a whopping 50 percent of the industry’s insulin revenue.
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The price of insulin in the US is sky-high and is wrecking countless lives as a result
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“Newer versions of insulin retail for between $175 and $300 a vial. Most patients with diabetes need two to three vials per month, and some can require more,” writes Joshua Cohen for Forbes.
These are mind-boggling prices to pay for a vital product. Insulin therapy has been around since 1922 and developed over the years in a showcase of scientific strength. However, the financial side of things isn’t something to marvel over.
While the rest of the world has embraced the necessity to give diabetics free or at least cheap access to what they need, around a third of the 35 million Americans who have diabetes and require insulin to manage the disease find themselves facing very real, very practical financial dilemmas each month.
Some stories are very tragic. People are bursting into tears listening to how some parents have to struggle to provide insulin for their kids
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The price of insulin in the US is incredibly high. Far, far higher than in nations all over the world
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Whether they’re insured, underinsured, or uninsured, Americans still pay a hefty price for something so basic that some other nations are giving away free of charge.
As to why the prices are so high, the short answer is that market isn’t as regulated as tightly as it could be and so drugmakers can pretty much do what they want. To put it bluntly, they keep the prices high because they can.
Meanwhile, the excuse that pharmaceutical companies tend to give is that they constantly innovate, creating more effective products.
Here’s how some more social media users have been reacting to the ridiculous fact that insulin still costs an arm and a leg in the US
The post Insulin Prices In The United States Are Still Sky-High, And Americans Have Had Enough first appeared on Bored Panda.
Source: boredpanda.com