When you’re on the hunt for a cost-effective insulin alternative, it can be hard to decide where to start.
Insulin is a drug that helps people with diabetes control their blood sugar levels by lowering their glucose levels. When people are on insulin, they have to take regular doses of medication to help reduce those levels. People with type 1 diabetes who use insulin typically need between two and three injections per day. That means that they spend anywhere between $0.70 and $1.50 per injection (that’s calculated every day).
There are various types of human insulin: short acting , intermediate acting , long acting , subcutaneous , and penicillins . Short-acting insulins are the most common ones used today because they are less expensive than long-acting insulins . Insulin is commonly used to treat diabetes mellitus type 2 in adults; however, because long-term use can lead to hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), long-term use of any specific type of human insulin in children should be avoided due to possible serious side effects including muscle weakness and organ failure. Insulin injections must be given under close medical supervision at home or in hospital settings.
Why is insulin so expensive in the US?
Do you know why insulin is so expensive? And what can you do to change that? Well, let’s start with the history. The first time insulin was made was in 1852. It was an experimental drug developed to treat someone with a chronic illness. In the early days, it wasn’t specifically made for humans. It was found that it helped a cow with a condition called ‘ketosis’, which is when the body goes into a state where it has no fuel, and therefore, is unable to function properly; this causes dangerous ketone bodies.
The true cost of insulin is a mystery. The truth is that it doesn’t cost anything to make insulin, and it doesn’t cost anything to buy insulin. That’s why the price of insulin has been going up madly at an alarming rate, and why people with diabetes are struggling to afford their medication.
I hope you have a better understanding of the true costs associated with insulin.
The drug industry is the number one threat of insulin in America. With the rise in obesity, diabetes and hypertension, as well as the general lack of competition in the market, it is only a matter of time before insulin prices explode.
Athena Pharma supplies insulin to pharma giants like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. If you’re wondering why insulin prices are so high, you’ve come to the right place. The big pharma companies can easily use their influence over regulatory agencies to ensure that their drugs remain cost-effective for years to come – even if it means keeping big profits for themselves year after year after year by charging inflated prices for life-saving drugs.
Another important reason for why insulin costs so much is because there are too few competitors in the market. In other words, the drug industry has been able to rig up its predatory pricing system by pooling their resources together and providing reach across all products under their umbrella.
A study titled ‘The Price Evolution of Insulin’ shows how price increases have not necessarily resulted in higher profits for pharmaceutical companies; rather they’ve resulted in lower profits which are then passed onto patients who want access to affordable medications
I was reading an article titled ‘Why is Insulin Expensive in America?’ from the Modern Healthcare website and realized that I had recently discovered the same phenomenon. It starts out by saying: ‘Insulin is perhaps the most expensive medication in the country.’ And its true. I have felt the burden of purchasing diabetes medication for years in America, before I switched to buying insulin from Canada. Now my wallet feels fuller while by blood glucose feels aligned.
- Because of the lack of generic competition, pharmaceutical companies must charge high prices for their products because they can sell them only through a monopoly relationship with government-sanctioned distributors.
- There is no generic version of insulin available. This means that insulin must be bought on a per-dose basis, making it prohibitively expensive to patients whose lifestyle requires multiple daily doses.
- As a result of all three factors, insulin has become one of only four drugs (along with cholesterol medications, antibiotics, and blood pressure medications) to be listed on the list of restricted drugs . These drugs carry restrictions attached to them by their manufacturers who are required by law to provide them under special conditions; i.e., if you have kidney failure or liver disease, you cannot purchase insulin with your prescription. These special conditions include having a specific drug test showing high levels of glucose or protein in your blood, as well as having diabetes.
This is where we come back to our original question: why is insulin expensive in America? Why does this country buy into this idea that it’s too expensive to use? Meanwhile here in Canada, where I live, more than half our population has type 1 diabetes and our rates are pretty damn low considering how much people rely on it and what kind of lifestyle we lead in this country. In fact, there isn’t even any kind of drug without a brand name attached to it and it still costs $2200/month for someone between 60–80 years’ old who relies solely upon this drug for their survival during the majority of the year. It’s incredible when you think about it.
Buying insulin from Canada
It’s quite obvious I am fired up about this topic. I was tired of paying thousands of dollars for my diabetes medication to ensure my blood glucose was on point. If you are like me and sick and tired of overpaying for medicine, it’s time to take things into our own hands.
I have been buying my insulin and diabetes medication from Insulin Outlet for close to a year now. Although I was skeptical at first (as many people who are ordering medicine online overseas would be), I have turned into a firm believer and have used Insulin Outlet for all my diabetes medicine.
What choice do we have? We have been at the mercy of Big Pharma since the beginning of time and I am tired of choosing between my medicine and rent. Bless options like Insulin Outlet who have provided Americans with an alternative option in purchasing medication.
Helen Baumeister did her degree in psychology at the University of Hertfordshire. She is interested in mental health, wellness, and lifestyle.
