Kennedy introduces bill to lock in $35 insulin price cap for all Americans: “My bill saves money”

WASHINGTON - Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the Affordable Insulin Now Act to ensure that every American, including those without health insurance, has access to a 30-day supply of insulin for no more than $35 per month.

Kennedy also penned this op-ed in RealClearHealth explaining how capping the price of insulin could save taxpayers billions of dollars.

"My bill is not some new welfare program that spends money we don't have. My bill saves money," Kennedy wrote.

"Diabetes is difficult enough to manage without having to consider whether you can afford to pay for your insulin. Congress can save taxpayer money and improve the lives of diabetic Americans by ensuring that every person has access to affordable insulin," he later added.

Background:

Roughly one out of every eight Americans has diabetes, including 486,600 adults in Louisiana.

The average insulin-dependent diabetic has $4,800 per year in out-of-pocket expenses related to medical appointments, supplies, and medications-a price few Americans can afford. In turn, one in six diabetic Americans admitted to rationing their prescribed insulin doses due to financial concerns. Rationing insulin often leads to costly hospitalizations for diabetic patients. The average cost of a diabetes-related hospital stay can range from $8,426 to $23,359.

The federal government spends $307 billion per year on diabetes-related health care services. A recent study of a 2024 law that capped the price of insulin for Americans on Medicare at $35 per month revealed a nearly 5% reduction in medical expenses related to rationing insulin. A 5% reduction in the $307 billion that the federal government already spends on diabetic care would save taxpayers more than $15 billion per year.

Kennedy's Affordable Insulin Now Act would:

• Require private group or individual plans to cover one of each insulin dosage form (i.e. vial, pen) and insulin type (i.e. rapid-acting, short-acting, intermediate-acting or long-acting) for no more than $35 per month.

• Require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a program to reimburse qualifying entities for covering any costs that exceed $35 for providing a 30-day supply of insulin to uninsured patients.

Kennedy also introduced the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act with Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). This bill would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month for Americans on private and employer insurance and create a pilot program to provide insulin at the same cost to Americans without insurance.

Text of the Affordable Insulin Now Act is available here.

Read Kennedy's op-ed in RealClearHealth here.