Aesthetically PleasedMar 16, 2023
Jorge Caballero, MD

❌ Eli Lilly lowers the cost of insulin in U.S.
✅ Eli Lilly reluctantly complies with Democratic law that caps out-of-pocket cost of insulin

Eli Lilly is a global corporation that actively participates and defends its role in the insulin oligopoly. Eli Lilly isn't capping the cost of jack squat. Eli Lilly was forced to stop exploiting patients－ that's the story, and the headline. Do better, editors.

#insulin

Mar 1, 2023 at 3:30pmWeb
Show threadMichelleRN, Former CHPN, Ret.Mar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD
Exactly.
Lilly will try to parley it into "we are magnanimous".
Not falling for it.
Show threadnadin brzezinskiMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD @donmelton editors will not do better. It’s who they work for
Show threadNicholas GuarracinoMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD I thought the law only imposed the $35 cap for Medicare patients, and now Eli Lilly is saying the cap will be for everyone. So I think they are doing a little more than the bare minimum?
Show threadPusher Of Pixels (old account)Mar 1, 2023

@nguarracino @DataDrivenMD it won't be for everyone. If you don't have insurance, you'll pay full price unless you register for yet another bureaucracy program run by Eli Lily.

How many people won't know about the program?

Or they could have JUST MADE THE PRICE $35. They still want to reap windfall profit from people who will die without it.

Show threadDon WhitesideMar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD that’s not correct. The cap is for Medicare/Medicaid patients. Private insurance or people paying out of pocket was not covered.

Now, does the fact that Eli Lily was facing an ongoing series of articles and questions about “why is my cousin only paying $35?” have an impact? Absolutely. But the legislation didn’t require this.

Show threadTanner B 🆓🇵🇸Mar 4, 2023
@donw @DataDrivenMD Can’t believe he made a whole thread about how wrong the media is when he’s the one wrong
Show threadNihl L'AmasMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD @brooklynmarie Can you be more clear about that? I thought the proposed stuff applied to insurance companies' copays being capped. If there is a law to fix the gouging at the manufacturer level I would be happy to rave about it, although it's kind of late.
Show threadKevin Karhan Mar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD @aral Like with #Daraprim it's basically legalized blackmailing and holding people at ransom.

The only thing that changes is how patients are being billed - may it e by rising insurance premiums or per box...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Shkreli#Daraprim_price-hike_controversy

Martin Shkreli - Wikipedia

Show threadViolet HousewifeMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD on a sidenote, the midwest environment has also suffered...
Show threadPeat BogMar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD
I need a tl;dr because I stopped following the insulin debate when I couldn't figure out which insulins were being discussed.

Basically, what's happening with the price of Lantus?

Show threadMorgan MitchellMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD 💯💯💯💯
Show threadHouse_of_LewisMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD @DuncanWatson
Show threadSwagpuss McGMar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD Scotland's FM is brought down after long stable success due to GRR bill concerns and women's rights, indyref2 gets set back possibly forever and UK right wing claim moral highground

Next day, Spain passes the exact same legislation and the world doesn't end, no one in Britain even knew they were proposing one til BBC reported "they did it already."

🤭

Show threadVoronMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD “When inventor Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 1923, he refused to put his name on the patent. He felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit from a discovery that would save lives. Banting's co-inventors, James Collip and Charles Best, sold the insulin patent to the University of Toronto for a mere $1.”
Show threadJenXMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD Also of note- a $30 generic is about to come out. At least this article mentions it, albeit midway through. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/eli-lilly-caps-cost-insulin-35-month-rcna72713
Drugmaker Eli Lilly caps the cost of insulin at $35 a month, bringing relief for millions

Eli Lilly said it would cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month. More than 8 million people with diabetes rely on insulin, which is notoriously expensive in the U.S.

NBC News
Show threadBarbara BanfieldMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD
Also - Gov Newsome announced California will be manufacturing their own insulin and selling it at cost (90% below brand name insulin) to allwho need it. Eli Lilly is threatened with total loss of market share amongst the non-Medicare buyers of insulin.
Show threadFirst Dread Pirate RobertsMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD The #MSM doesn’t care about consumers, they care about who is paying their bills, and pushing pro-establishment messages. Rather than a cap of $35, Lilly should just charge a maximum of $35. It’s not really $35 when taxpayers pick up the difference. #elilily #insulin #copay #lilly
Show threadTheDoctorMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD Thank you for that. For the revised headline. It makes all the difference in the world.
Show threadKent BrewsterMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD thank you! This is incredibly important work, please consider editing this and adding #insulin as a hashtag for discoverability?
Show threadJanMar 1, 2023
On the positive side: Eli Lilly’s insulin is now said to be price capped at $35. Which is literally life saving for a lot of people. That’s something to celebrate, despite the cause.
Show threadpbardenMar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD Right. They are doing this now, with no actual law in place for most users. The law is for medicare users if I understand it correctly. So what happens in 5 yrs time? Will it creep back up? Will they double it?

They should probably set up a formula to adjust the cost based on inputs and labor cost/manufacturing costs. The cost could go up or down based on this public formula.

Make the price sticky - fix it to a whole dollar. $34, $35, $36, $37 etc.

Show threadjraveMar 1, 2023

@DataDrivenMD I googled this today after reading about the "cap" at 35$ per dose, which still appeared quite costly to me and I wanted to know what it would cost here in Germany and other countries around the world.

Stumbled on this:
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/cost-of-insulin-by-country
Sources are at the bottom.

TLDR: a comparable dose would cost about a third of those 35$ and probably be covered by your (mandatory) health insurance.
I'm sure many of your readers and you know about this already.

Cost of Insulin by Country 2025

Detailed data on the cost of insulin by country, offering insights into the affordability of this essential medication for managing diabetes across different nations.

World Population Review
Show threadnajaravielMar 1, 2023
@DataDrivenMD corporation worship has created a society of human need and suffering, left unmet, with nothing but customer facing debt slavery and /or miserable incarceration for the near future. Vote in every election and never forget
Show threadThe DoctorMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD I still don't know why they haven't moved to squish Open Insulin.
Show threaddzamie Mar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD "Journalists" use passive voice for everything but a corporation being forced to do less evil.
Show threadnekoMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD Don’t forget they’re developing new insulin that would be excluded from the rules
Show threadOld Man MikeMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD remember that time on Bird when Eli Lilly made that tweet? Ohhhhh how we laughed, we didn’t realize it then, but that would be the last real laugh of the Twitter age. Until the king of comedy took over with his famous tag line: “I’m rich bitch”, stolen from a black guy, just like his daddy taught him.
Show threadPeachMcDMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD
Thank you!
@[email protected] needs to see this
Show threadNlroundaboutMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD isn’t the legal cap just for Medicare patients but the drug company lowered cost for all? I’m no fan of Big Pharma, but seems to be some confusion around this.
Show thread𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒋𝒂𝒉🔋Mar 2, 2023

@DataDrivenMD More like "Eli, Really?"

#elililly

Show threadDavie DuckMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD Sandofi has also capped there insulin price at $35 for uninsured patients. Universal healthcare and negotiated prescription prices are among my top criteria for deciding on which candidates deserve my support.
Show threadAaron GustafsonMar 2, 2023
@DataDrivenMD You can hear the editorial team now: “But they’re an advertiser!”
Show threadHalcekMar 6, 2023
@DataDrivenMD If the democrats could achieve capping the out of pocket price for insulin, they could also reduce the out of pocket price to zero, which’s where it should be for such a life-saving drug. Incrementalism is still costly, because it’s pricing a lot of people out altogether. Making something just a little more affordable for people who could with some difficulty still afford it before, does exactly nothing for people who urgently need it, yet couldn’t afford the medicine.
Show threadC.D. LewisApr 11, 2023
@DataDrivenMD Given the length of time insulin has been made on industrial scale it beggars the imagination what Eli Lilly could possibly have under patent that prevents competition in its production.