From his earliest days in office, President Biden has been focused on the country’s health. Much of his effort, no doubt, was based on the toll COVID-19 had already taken on the country. On inauguration day 2021, the virus had already claimed nearly half a million American lives. The number of documented COVID cases was many times that number.
In just his first ten days in office, the President was busy with healthcare, issuing a full dozen executive orders, memoranda and presidential proclamations all focused on the health of Americans. Since then, he has continued to make headlines on the healthcare front, most recently when he announced an agreement between the government and the pharmaceutical industry to cap the price of insulin at $35 per month.
“Diabetes is an epidemic in the United States,” said Erin Seedorf, Assistant Chair in the Whole Health Division at Metropolitan State University-Denver. Seedorf says that the disease afflicts more than 311,000 Coloradans, many of whom are challenged to afford the President’s pre-cap insulin price. Over the last decade, insulin prices have tripled with some patients having to pay up to $600 for a month’s supply.
While the President has moved on a number of healthcare fronts, including addressing the country’s cancer challenge, diabetes may be as big or bigger a medical issue.
Seedorf calls the disease that prohibits the pancreas from producing little or no insulin and causing a buildup of glucose or sugars in the blood an epidemic and a financial nightmare for millions. “People with diabetes have medical expenses approximately 2-3 times higher than those who do not have diabetes,” she said. Some people, many elderly and on fixed incomes, pay up to $600 for a month’s supply of insulin. In addition to paying for the drug, there can be additional medical expenses—up to a $1 billion—on indirect costs. Diabetes also is known to be a significant factor in a number of health issues, including stroke, heart disease, amputation, blindness and death.
Colorado Senator and former Governor John Hickenlooper took to the Senate floor to applaud the President’s move to lower drug prices. “For years,” he said, “we’ve all been paying much more than those in other countries for the same drugs. But now, Medicare is taking the first step towards ending that stranglehold on life-saving drugs.” Hickenlooper excoriated the pharmaceutical industry for ‘ripping off’ Americans dependent on drugs to stay alive.
Late last month, President Biden also announced a list of ten drugs that will now be subject to negotiations with Medicare. The list includes insulin. Other drugs that the President targeted include those people take for stroke, heart disease, blood clots, cancer and more. While the list reflects the President’s promise to help Americans who routinely skip taking their drugs or ration them in order to stretch their supply, it is also a part of the Democrats’ campaign effort for 2024.
For years, Americans have journeyed to Canada to buy their prescription drugs where prices are dramatically lower than in the U.S. The major reason for this is that Canadian government collaborates directly with pharmaceutical companies to negotiate prices. If a drug is considered too expen- sive for consumers, it is kept off the market.
Interestingly, in Canada the cost for insulin is set at $35 but the cost of syringes, the mechanism for administering the medicine, is not covered.
Canada also limits direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs which also limits the cost of each drug. In Canada, taxes make up any loss in revenue that drug companies might experience. But a poll asking Canadiens if they would prefer paying higher taxes than higher drug prices showed nearly a 90 percent approval for higher taxes.
Last week, the President also announced $240 million for a number of projects as part of his “Cancer Moonshot,” initiative. The initiative, it is hoped, will cut cancer death rates by half over the next 25 years.
While cancer rates have fallen in the U.S. by an astonishing 33 percent since 1991, it remains the second leading cause of death in the United States, trailing only heart disease.
The Centers for Disease Control attributes the decline in cancer rates to the huge reduction in smoking along with early detection and significant advances in treatment.
While the price of insulin along with the President’s list of drugs that will be price-negotiated is welcomed news by millions, it may be a pipedream to ever see a drop in a family of drugs designed to treat a handful of rare medical conditions.
One drug, Zolgensma, used in the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy, a childhood condition that causes muscular erosion and contributes to lung infections and muscle weakness costs $2.1 for a course of treatment. It is the most expensive prescription drug in the United States. Zokinvy is the second most costly at $1,073,000. Zokinvy is used in the treatment of progeria, a condition that causes premature aging. The cost for Zokinvy is for a one-year treatment.
