Health insurer Cigna is capping the skyrocketing insulin cost for some of its diabetic patients. It has announced to launch a new program next year, which will cap copays at $25 for a monthly supply of insulin.
The health insurance company said its new program would help lower the insulin costs for nearly 700,000 members with diabetes who are covered under Cigna plans as well as its pharmacy benefits subsidiary Express Scripts. Cigna said the average cost for a monthly supply of insulin was previously $41.50.
The company will offer the program as part of non-government Cigna plans for individuals, employers, and unions. Cigna said employers and other groups have the choice of adopting the $25 copay at any time. It is currently not available for Cigna-administered Medicare and Medicaid plans.
Cigna executive vice president and chief clinical officer Dr. Steve Miller, said in a statement Wednesday, “We are confident that our new program will remove cost as a barrier for people in participating plans who need insulin. We need to ensure these individuals feel secure in their ability to afford every fill so they don’t miss one dose, which can be dangerous for their health.”
According to Cigna, more than 25 percent of the 24 million Americans with diabetes rely on insulin to keep their blood sugar levels under check. A Yale study found that at least one in four people who use insulin stopped using the drug because they find it too expensive to afford.
The exponential increase in the cost of insulin in the U.S. has resulted in some diabetics to put their health at risk.
Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the committee, said in a statement Wednesday, “It is good news for patients any time out-of-pocket drug costs are lowered but questioned why Cigna’s cost-cutting is only happening now.”
The senator asked, “Why couldn’t this have been done years ago?
He added, “It shouldn’t take bad press and congressional scrutiny to get health plans, their pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical companies to arrive at a fair price for a drug that’s been on the market for nearly a century.”
Last month, Eli Lilly, the largest producer of insulin in the United States, introduced Lispro, a generic version Humalog insulin, for half the price of its flagship Humalog product.
Cigna’s move comes a week before Miller and other pharmacy-benefit-management (PBM) executives are scheduled to prove the role of PBM contracts in increasing drug price. Trump’s administration has proposed barring the confidential discount agreements on Medicare government plans. The comment rule on that plan ends on April 8, while the administration is expected to bring the final rule sometime around spring.
