Republicans talk a good game about wanting to lower insulin prices. But now that Democrats are talking seriously about including caps on insulin prices for some people in Build Back Better, Republicans want to block the move and keep forcing diabetics to pay outrageous prices for the medication they need to live.
“Senate Republicans are eyeing a procedural move to prevent the insulin cap from applying to privately insured Americans, seeking to deny Democrats a talking point heading into next year’s midterm elections—even if it means that some patients will go without relief,” The Washington Post reports. In other words, business as usual: Republicans putting Republican power over accomplishing something that would help a lot of people, something they claim to support. Republicans are meeting with the Senate parliamentarian to figure out if they could block that specific provision from eligibility to pass through budget reconciliation.
When Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley joined with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden in an investigation of insulin prices released earlier this year, Grassley said in a statement, “There is clearly something broken when a product like insulin that’s been on the market longer than most people have been alive skyrockets in price.” He went on to call for legislation to address the problem, saying, “Tens of millions of Americans, from every generation and background, depend on insulin. This report pulls back the curtain on the drivers of spiking prices. It’s a perfect example of why we ought to continue pushing for bipartisan legislation and oversight to address this problem.”
Well, Chuck, it would be bipartisan if you voted for it and maybe got a couple of your Republican friends to do the same. Friends perhaps like Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who in April introduced the Ending Pricey Insulin Act, which would cap out-of-pocket-costs for a month’s supply of insulin at $50 for insured people and would cover uninsured people. But the Post reports that Grassley and Kennedy are “tight-lipped” about their position on the Democrats’ effort to include insulin price controls in Build Back Better.
In translation, they’re going to oppose the whole bill no matter what, and they’re probably also going to go along with—or at least not oppose—efforts to strip the insulin provision out of the final bill. Because nothing, nothing, nothing is as important to Senate Republicans as preventing Democrats from helping people.
”Nationwide, 34 million Americans have diabetes, and more than 7 million depend on insulin,” according to a press release from Kennedy’s office. And the price keeps going up. One brand, reports the Post, went from $21 a vial in 1996 to $275 a vial now, while selling for dramatically less in other countries.
”nsulin in the U.S. costs about eight times more than it does in peer countries, according to a 2020 study. About one in four people who need it can’t afford it, surveys have suggested, which is why many end up rationing their own medication — sometimes with severe, even fatal consequences,” reports HuffPost’s Jonathan Cohn.
Denying Democrats a win matters more to Republicans than those people’s lives.
“Senate Republicans are eyeing a procedural move to prevent the insulin cap from applying to privately insured Americans, seeking to deny Democrats a talking point heading into next year’s midterm elections—even if it means that some patients will go without relief,” The Washington Post reports. In other words, business as usual: Republicans putting Republican power over accomplishing something that would help a lot of people, something they claim to support. Republicans are meeting with the Senate parliamentarian to figure out if they could block that specific provision from eligibility to pass through budget reconciliation.
When Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley joined with Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden in an investigation of insulin prices released earlier this year, Grassley said in a statement, “There is clearly something broken when a product like insulin that’s been on the market longer than most people have been alive skyrockets in price.” He went on to call for legislation to address the problem, saying, “Tens of millions of Americans, from every generation and background, depend on insulin. This report pulls back the curtain on the drivers of spiking prices. It’s a perfect example of why we ought to continue pushing for bipartisan legislation and oversight to address this problem.”
Well, Chuck, it would be bipartisan if you voted for it and maybe got a couple of your Republican friends to do the same. Friends perhaps like Republican Sen. John Kennedy, who in April introduced the Ending Pricey Insulin Act, which would cap out-of-pocket-costs for a month’s supply of insulin at $50 for insured people and would cover uninsured people. But the Post reports that Grassley and Kennedy are “tight-lipped” about their position on the Democrats’ effort to include insulin price controls in Build Back Better.
In translation, they’re going to oppose the whole bill no matter what, and they’re probably also going to go along with—or at least not oppose—efforts to strip the insulin provision out of the final bill. Because nothing, nothing, nothing is as important to Senate Republicans as preventing Democrats from helping people.
”Nationwide, 34 million Americans have diabetes, and more than 7 million depend on insulin,” according to a press release from Kennedy’s office. And the price keeps going up. One brand, reports the Post, went from $21 a vial in 1996 to $275 a vial now, while selling for dramatically less in other countries.
”nsulin in the U.S. costs about eight times more than it does in peer countries, according to a 2020 study. About one in four people who need it can’t afford it, surveys have suggested, which is why many end up rationing their own medication — sometimes with severe, even fatal consequences,” reports HuffPost’s Jonathan Cohn.
Denying Democrats a win matters more to Republicans than those people’s lives.