Make Life Saving Insulin More Affordable

The Issue

It's time for all Tennesseeans to have affordable insulin!

My son, Trevon was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 4. We are fortunate enough to have good health insurance to cover the expensive cost of insulin and other diabetic related supplies. 

Diabetics that are unable to afford their insulin run the risk of many health problems: Blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, limb loss, depression, and death.

Although diabetes has been around for centuries along with insulin, drug manufactures continue to raise the costs for this medicine versus developing a cure. I believe that families shouldn't have to worry about how they will buy life-sustaining medication while giant pharmaceutical companies rake in record-setting profits.

This petition is not asking for free insulin. It is asking for fair pricing for medications that are needed to sustain life. Only we, the people of the United States of America can change things. Only we, are able to make our voices heard, raise awareness, and put a cap on what a diabetic has to spend monthly on a medication that they need to live and be a functional member of society. 

Canada’s price for insulin is $90, and Colorado recently passed an insulin price cap of $100 per month. It's time for Tennessee to join Colorado in passing a price cap on this life-saving drug.

The insulin price cap in Colorado has shown that it’s possible for states to take control of outrageous insulin pricing and as a result, to save lives. It’s time for Tennessee to join them in protecting Tennesseans with diabetes from avoidable health risks. I urge you to look into the legislation that Colorado passed as a potential example for Tennessee to follow.

80,515

The Issue

It's time for all Tennesseeans to have affordable insulin!

My son, Trevon was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 4. We are fortunate enough to have good health insurance to cover the expensive cost of insulin and other diabetic related supplies. 

Diabetics that are unable to afford their insulin run the risk of many health problems: Blindness, kidney failure, nerve damage, limb loss, depression, and death.

Although diabetes has been around for centuries along with insulin, drug manufactures continue to raise the costs for this medicine versus developing a cure. I believe that families shouldn't have to worry about how they will buy life-sustaining medication while giant pharmaceutical companies rake in record-setting profits.

This petition is not asking for free insulin. It is asking for fair pricing for medications that are needed to sustain life. Only we, the people of the United States of America can change things. Only we, are able to make our voices heard, raise awareness, and put a cap on what a diabetic has to spend monthly on a medication that they need to live and be a functional member of society. 

Canada’s price for insulin is $90, and Colorado recently passed an insulin price cap of $100 per month. It's time for Tennessee to join Colorado in passing a price cap on this life-saving drug.

The insulin price cap in Colorado has shown that it’s possible for states to take control of outrageous insulin pricing and as a result, to save lives. It’s time for Tennessee to join them in protecting Tennesseans with diabetes from avoidable health risks. I urge you to look into the legislation that Colorado passed as a potential example for Tennessee to follow.

The Decision Makers

Former State House of Representatives
2 Members
1 Responded
Jason Hodges
Former State House of Representatives - Tennessee-67
TennCare spent a total of $140,870,968 in pharmacy reimbursement of insulin products last year. That is just a fraction of what Tennesseans have spent on insulin total. The list price of common types of insulin has almost tripled over the last decade. Yet, that is not the case worldwide. While the US only uses about 15% of the world’s insulin, it pays pharmaceutical companies over half their profit margin on insulin. This is why I am sponsoring a bill limiting the amount a pharmaceutical company can charge for insulin to $100 in Tennessee. It is time that they stop price gauging our citizens. Several other states have attempted to address this issue as well. Colorado being the most successful, capped insurance from charging customers over $100. While this is a great plan for Colorado, the number of uninsured and underinsured in Tennessee would prevent this solution from being as successful here. This is why my bill will attempt to go directly after the companies that are inflating prices on this life saving drug in the first place.
Curtis Johnson
Former State House of Representatives - Tennessee-68
Bill Lee
Tennessee Governor
Former State Senate
2 Members
Mark Green
Former State Senate - Tennessee-22
Katrina Robinson
Former State Senate - Tennessee-33
Tennessee State Senate
2 Members
Bill Powers
Tennessee State Senate - District 22
Richard Briggs
Tennessee State Senate - District 7
Marsha Blackburn
U.S. Senate - Tennessee

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Petition created on August 27, 2019