Biden budget caps monthly insulin price at $35 for privately insured

President Joe Biden’s federal budget proposal would cap insulin prices at $35 monthly for individuals with private insurance coverage.

The Inflation Reduction Act capped monthly insulin costs at that price for seniors in January, but disregarded everyone who wasn’t on Medicare. Biden called on Congress in his State of the Union speech to complete the job and cap insulin at $35 a month for everyone.

The worth cap within the budget would not cover people who find themselves uninsured. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra told reporters Thursday that the president believes no one within the U.S. should pay greater than $35 a month for insulin.

Becerra said certainly one of the fastest ways to scale back insulin costs for the uninsured can be for the ten remaining states that have not expanded Medicaid to accomplish that. Medicaid is the general public medical insurance program for lower-income individuals.

Drugmaker Eli Lilly got ahead of a possible federal mandate, announcing earlier this month that it will cap insulin at $35 monthly for individuals with private insurance at certain retail pharmacies. But CEO David Ricks, in a press release, said 7 out of 10 Americans don’t use Lilly’s insulin. He called on federal policymakers and employers to assist make the prices of the injections cheaper.

Biden praised Lilly’s decision and called on other manufacturers to follow suit. He also reiterated his call for Congress to lower insulin prices for everybody else.

About 40% of individuals with diabetes have private insurance while 5% should not insured, in response to the American Diabetes Association.

Some Republicans in Congress oppose the move to cap insulin prices. Rep. Cathy Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called the Biden administration’s efforts to lower insulin prices as “socialist” and a “federal mandate” that’s bad for market competition.