The cost of insulin is impacting employee health plans for local governments and services where local governments cover medical costs, like detention centers.
According to a Route-Fifty article, state and local governments are joining a multidistrict lawsuit in an attempt to cut insulin prices. While components of the drug have remained largely unchanged since the original development, costs have increased drastically, and are taking a toll on local government finances. A diagram from the University of Florida, tracked the per vial cost of insulin from $33 in 1996 to an average of $275 per vial in 2017.
The primary goals of the the most recent suits are the recovery of costs for prior financial injury and injunctive relief to lower insulin costs moving forward.
From the article, the lead attorney on the case from Levin Papantonio Rafferty shared:
Governments, particularly at the local level, are spending too much on insulin, Bogle said. It’s not just employee health plans that account for increased costs. In many counties, for example, the government picks up the tab for public hospitals and correctional facilities that need to have insulin available. Spending so much on insulin takes away governments’ ability to finance other projects, such as infrastructure improvements, he said.
A trial date for the multidistrict litigation over insulin pricing could be scheduled by early 2026.
