Nebraska lawmakers propose capping insulin costs

Growing up without insurance, high school senior Aanya Mishra believed that insurance was the key to accessing health care. 

She realized that wasn't the case shortly after her family became insured. Her father, diagnosed with diabetes, delays trips to the doctor for fear that he will be prescribed insulin, one of the main treatments for the disease, but also a medication that has seen rising costs across the U.S. in recent years. 

Mishra was one of a handful of supporters of two bills that were the subject of a public hearing in the state Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee Tuesday, each of which proposes to cap the monthly cost of insulin for insured patients.

"Insurance doesn't fix everything," Mishra said. "Having limited copays is the solution to access to health care."

The bills would cap the amount an insured patient can pay for insulin — up to $100 per patient for a 30-day supply under a bill (LB142), introduced by state Sen. Tom Briese of Albion, and up to $35 for the same amount under LB779, introduced by Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln. 

Bostar said about 9.6% of Nebraska adults are diagnosed with diabetes, and yet he and other supporters said the rising cost of the medication is making it difficult for families to access the treatment. Briese said some Nebraskans are asked to pay more than $1,000 a month. 

"No person should have to choose whether they receive life-saving medication solely based on cost," said Leslie Spry with the Nebraska Medical Association.

Spry said patients who have a hard time affording the medication can resort to desperate measures, such as rationing their current insulin supply, which can result in expensive and sometimes deadly consequences. 

Last year, the federal government capped insulin costs at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries. Briese said roughly 20 other states have established their own cap on copays, at $100 or less. He estimated the average cap to be between $50 to $75. 

"I would submit that we should do the same thing," Briese said. 

Other supporters of both bills represented AARP Nebraska and the advocacy group Nebraska Appleseed. Two insurance representatives were neutral on the bills. The committee did not vote to advance either bill after the hearing concluded.