[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 49 (Thursday, March 16, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                Insulin

  Madam President, now on insulin, the exponential spike in the cost of 
insulin is one of the most unjust and widespread healthcare bad trends 
in the past few decades. This drug, discovered a century ago and which 
is exceedingly cheap to produce, has seen its price surge in recent 
years, sometimes far beyond $300 for a month's supply. That is cruel. 
It is unjust. It causes anguish for so many, but it is also for so many 
a reality.
  Senate Democrats took a major step toward basic fairness last year by 
capping the cost of insulin for people on Medicare at $35 a month. 
Since Democrats took action, Big Pharma has taken note. Eli Lilly 
announced a few weeks ago that they, too, will be capping the cost of 
insulin for patients at $35 a month as well as dramatically dropping 
the overall price. And just this week, Novo Nordisk also decided to 
drop their price in a similar manner.
  So today I call on the third big drugmaker of insulin--Sanofi--to end 
their practice of keeping insulin prices at sky-high levels so that 
Americans can afford to pay for diabetes treatment without going broke.
  I will be sending Sanofi a letter soon expressing my desire and 
Americans' strong desire for them to drop the price of insulin.
  Lowering insulin costs for all patients is the right thing to do, and 
I hope Sanofi makes the correct decision to lower their prices very 
soon, just like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have done.
  All of us know somebody with diabetes. Put yourself in their shoes 
and imagine the sheer agony of struggling to afford this basic drug 
just so you can live a decent and healthy life, so you don't have to 
worry about going blind or maybe having a leg amputated--just so you 
can live at all. No American should have to go through that ever--
ever--but too many do.
  In the Senate, I hope both parties can build on the work last year to 
cap patient insulin costs at $35 a month for everyone. We did it for 
Medicare. We can do it for everyone else. And we hope we can get that 
done on a bipartisan basis. Lowering insulin prices isn't a Democratic 
issue or a Republican issue; it is purely American. And I hope we can 
get something done. But today, the most immediate thing that can happen 
is for Sanofi to listen to the voices of millions of Americans and make 
the right choice to lower the price they charge for insulin for all 
patients.