The Annual Cost Of Living With Diabetes: $13,700
Due to spiking insulin prices and other contributing factors, it is now one of the country's most expensive diseases.
Sacramento Bee:
Diabetes Among The Most Expensive American Diseases, As Drug Prices Spike
With an estimated 30 million Americans struggling with diabetes, the disease is one of the nation’s most entrenched chronic conditions. It’s also one of the most expensive. ... The cost of insulin alone has spiked by triple-digit percentages in the past 20 years. “It’s horrible for patients,” said N. Chesney Hoagland-Fuchs, a registered nurse and chairwoman of the Diabetes Coalition of California. She said prices for insulin medications began a slow climb after the recession and started “shooting up” around 2013. (Buck, 2/5)
And in other pharmaceutical news —
California Healthline:
Hoping To Control Health Costs, California Lawmaker Targets Prescription Drug Coupons
A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would ban drugmakers from issuing coupons that lower patients’ prescription copayments for certain drugs. The bill by Assembly member Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, would prohibit distribution of discount coupons for prescription drugs where a cheaper, FDA-approved equivalent exists. (Bartolone, 2/6)