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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced he will call for a Senate vote in March to reduce the cost of insulin from $200-$600 per prescription to a cap of $35 in a Wednesday press conference in the Joslin Diabetes Center at the SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse.

The bill, which Schumer called the Affordable Insulin Now Act, will set the maximum out-of-pocket costs for anyone at $35 per month regardless of insurance status, Schumer said. He also confirmed the bill is measured in a way that insurance companies cannot pass the cost to consumers in other forms, such as a higher premium rate.

Schumer announced that he will call for a Senate vote in March to reduce the cost of insulin from $200-$600 per prescription to a cap of $35. @dailyorange pic.twitter.com/pgqtK9PMHB

— Francis B. Tang (@francis_towne) February 23, 2022

In 2019, 37.3 million Americans, or 11.3% of the country, had diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. In New York state, the percentage of adults who have diabetes increased from 6.3% in 2000 to 11% in 2018. Within Onondaga County, the percentage of adults with diabetes was 11.2% per New York State Department of Health data in 2016.

Schumer cited diabetes as one of the largest causes of death in the country.

“This is the reason we are here,” Schumer said while holding a vial of insulin. “This little vial costs as much as $600, and it’s a lifesaver. This vial represents a crisis … a lifesaving drug, insulin, used by tens of millions of Americans, costs so much that a lot of people can’t afford it anymore.”

The drug production and delivery system in the country is so convoluted that it favors the companies and distributors instead of the patients, which is the reason why insulin prices are still increasing each year, he said.

“It is the most major disease that we really don’t do enough to combat in a variety of ways,” Schumer said.

Schumer said he has had bipartisan support on the bill in the Senate. He confirmed that the bill was originally part of the Build Back Better plan but was separated in the Senate as it needs at least 60 votes to pass.

When asked if he’s confident about the bill’s passage in the House of Representatives, Schumer told The Daily Orange a similar one has already passed as a part of the larger Build Back Better plan.

“There’s a lot of partisanship in Washington these days, but this bill actually has Republican as well as Democratic support,” Schumer said. “As majority leader, you don’t have all the power in the world, especially with 50 votes. But one of my abilities as majority leader is to determine what goes to the floor of the Senate. And it’s my intention to put the Affordable Insulin Now Act on the floor.”

When asked why he didn’t put this in a larger bill or expand this to other categories and prescriptions, Schumer said he and the co-sponsors are doing this quickly and immediately because it has the quickest and best chance of passing.

Dr. Mantosh Dewan, the president of SUNY Upstate Medical University, thanked Schumer for “unfailingly” supporting the university and the state of New York. Dewan discussed the $140 million the university received from the federal CARES Act, which he said kept the university’s door open and allowed it to develop the saliva COVID-19 test that has been administered four million times. He also said the university is developing a new saliva test for COVID-19 antibodies.

Ruth Weinstock, the medical director of Joslin Diabetes Center, emphasized the importance of insulin therapy on patients with diabetes. It can prevent loss of vision, kidney failure, amputation, heart attack and strokes as well as greatly reduce emergency room visits and hospitalizations related to high blood sugars, she said.

“How sad it is that over a hundred years later after discovery of insulin, people are still dying due to lack of insulin,” Weinstock said. “Insulin affordability is a critical issue. And a national copay cap for people with commercial insurance and Medicare is essential.”

Weinstock hopes the bill could lead the way to additional legislation that will help people afford other needed prescription drugs, supplies, devices and future innovations.

Kristen Aluzzi, a Syracuse resident who’s had Type 1 diabetes for 30 years, said at the press conference that she has witnessed the price increase of insulin every year and every month. It was difficult to afford insulin when she was attending nursing school, she said, and that still affects her habits even today.

“I have (the) right insurance now. I’m lucky to have that,” Aluzzi said. “But I will use my omnipod and take out that little bit of insulin. Everything counts, and it all adds up.”

Schumer also answered questions regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflicts at the end of the press conference. He said while there is “no desire to get into a land war,” Congress will consider economic, security or humanitarian assistance to Ukraine in the next few weeks.

“The president has the ability to impose swift, strong and effective sanctions. He’s using it appropriately,” Schumer said. “My message to (the Ukrainian community in upstate New York) is we’re going to give the kind of aid that the Ukrainian people need. And as I said, I think America’s united and wanting to see a free Ukraine.”

Published on February 24, 2022 at 12:59 am

Contact Francis: btang05@syr.edu | @francis_towne