VernonReporter

State Senator Brad Pfaff: capping the price of insulin

Senator Brad Pfaff (D-Onalaska) represents the 32nd Senate District, which includes La Crosse, Vernon, Crawford, and southern Monroe County

Diabetes does not discriminate. According to the American Diabetes Association, more than 37 million Americans have diabetes, and of those, more than 8 million are undiagnosed.

This is personal for me and my family. It was the week between Christmas and the New Year in 2015 that my son got sick. Leading up to Christmas, he had lost weight, wasn’t eating, and was always thirsty.

My wife and I were anxious; we didn’t know what was wrong. Then, when my son and I were at Walmart in Onalaska a few days after Christmas, he said “Dad, I can’t see. Everything is blurry.”
I knew right then and there, that he was sick.

Soon, he was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic. At age 14, his life changed forever. He has a pre-existing condition. He needs insulin every day to live. This is my family’s story, but it is one that is familiar to families across Wisconsin and the United States.

Insulin was first used to treat individuals with diabetes more than 100 years ago. But today, more than 100 years later, people still can’t afford this lifesaving drug. Despite the low cost to manufacture insulin, pharmaceutical companies have made it cost prohibitive.

Financially, this forces people to make impossible decisions. Too many individuals are forced to choose between insulin and car payments; forced to choose between this lifesaving drug and putting groceries on their table.

We can do better.

It is time for the Wisconsin State Legislature to stop playing political games and instead focus on the issues that matter to the hardworking people of our state. I’m proud to have introduced legislation to cap the out-of-pocket price of insulin under state law at $35, which matches the price cap found in Medicare.

This is a simple, straightforward solution to reduce the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs. Twenty-two other states have already passed similar legislation and have insulin cost-sharing caps for their residents. Insulin is not an optional medication; individuals in Wisconsin worry every day about being able to access and afford the insulin they need to live.

Cheap partisan politics does nothing for the individuals who are struggling to afford this lifesaving drug. While the legislative majority is playing political games to try and retain their power, there are too many individuals going into debt in order to get insulin.

Recent Navigator polling has shown that capping the price of insulin has garnered broad bipartisan support in the United States from 74% of Americans. Capping the price of insulin is a policy that individuals across our state want.

It is time for the Wisconsin State Legislature to listen to the people of Wisconsin and cap the price of insuslin. Recent Navigator polling has shown that capping the price of insulin has garnered broad bipartisan support in the United States from 74% of Americans. Capping the price of insulin is a policy that individuals across our state want.

It is time for the Wisconsin State Legislature to listen to the people of Wisconsin and cap the price of insulin.

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