From Canadian imports to price caps, WA lawmakers seek ways to cut drug prices, a Crosscut article on insulin affordability legislation quotes President Marcia Stedman's support of SB 6087 delivered to the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee last month.
The United States' insulin affordability crisis forces some diabetes patients to take less of this life-saving drug than they need in a dangerous game of healthcare roulette. Others move to a foreign country where the price of insulin is much lower than in the U.S., or even free, in effect becoming health care refugees.
SB 6110, a bill that would facilitate importing prescription drugs from Canada, highlights the desperation of people who can't afford the skyrocketing prices of their life-saving medicines in the U.S. They are looking to Canada to solve the U.S. insulin affordability crisis. HCFA-WA President Marcia Stedman asks: 'Why can't an innovative state like Washington resolve this crisis?'"
Fortunately, there is a bill that could bring these "refugees" home - SB 6087. This bill puts a $100.00 cap on the co-pay for a 30-day supply of insulin.
In heart-wrenching testimony before the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee last month, friends and family members of patients dependent on insulin detailed the burden of high insulin costs. The mother of one, Marcee Stone-Vekich, gave moving testimony of her support for SB 6087.
SB 6110, the Canadian drug-importation bill, failed to advance beyond its initial hearing in the Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee, and will most likely see no further action this Session. It's up to Washington to solve it's insulin crisis, and you can help!
SB 6087 is very much in play as it awaits a decision from the Senate Rules Committee to advance to the Senate floor for full Senate consideration. Take action now! Contact the members of the Senate Rules Committee and urge them to move this bill forward to the floor of the Senate.
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Read about the journey so far for these insulin affordability bills.
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