Drug giant Eli Lilly will
cut the price of some of its insulin products
later this year. That could make the life-saving drug affordable and accessible to more diabetic Angelenos.
The high cost of insulin has been the focus of increasing criticism from lawmakers, patients, patient advocates and others who question how the drug so many depend on
went up 600% price in the last two decades.
That high cost is why the state of
California has said it plans to explore making its own cheaper insulin
.
Dr. Don Garcia is medical director at Clinica Romero, a federally qualified health center in Los Angeles County whose patient population is primarily Latino.
“Access to care is not just having access to a medical provider,” Garcia said, explaining patients must also be able to access “medical therapeutic interventions,” such as insulin. To do that, the pharmaceutical drug must be on the list of generic and brand-name prescription drugs covered by a specific health insurance plan, known as a formulary.
Garcia hopes the Eli Lilly insulin products will be added to the list of pharmaceutical drugs covered by programs such as
L.A. County’s My Health
, making them available to those patients.
Why that access is so important
“At our clinic sites we have about 4,000 diabetic patients, and about 30% of them are uncontrolled. That means their diabetes is not at an acceptable level,” Garcia said.
He said the gap between those diagnosed and those on effective treatment regimens underscores the “urgency to get access as soon as possible on the formulary.”
If a drug isn’t…
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