The Rising Cost of Insulin By: Laramie Kipp

Before I begin, what even is Type 1 Diabetes?

• An Autoimmune Disease (which means your MHC 1 Cells are being attacked)
• No one is sure what causes diabetes
• No, it's NOT from eating too much sugar
• The body does not produce insulin
• Insulin- A hormone produced by the pancreas that keeps your blood sugars from rising after you ingest food. Insulin is produced by the beta cells.
• Fun Fact:  This year will be a decade since I've been diagnosed with diabetes (May 14) 

Why is the Rising Cost of insulin important? And why does it matter to me?

Most people don’t know how much it truly is to manage diabetes. I’m talking about how there are many people who don’t have insurance and have to pay out of pocket for their insulin supplies. Novolog cost (on average) $310.59 dollars for every 10 milliliters and most people have to buy insulin every 2 to 3 months. This can be more than $1800 for just insulin. This doesn't even include all the other supplies that a diabetic needs. You have to pay for testing strips, meters, shots, batteries, glucose, sites, insulin shots, and reservoirs. The prices of insulin have skyrocketed by a staggering 544% and the average diabetic family can even spend up to $9,000 in diabetic supplies a year. From 2002 to 2013, insulin prices have tripled and caused many families to be in a bind.
Insulin is something you can’t go without so, many people are forced to ration their insulin and even reuse dirty needles. Rationalizing insulin is when someone doesn't give enough insulin for their food or doesn't correct themselves when their blood sugars are high because they fear they will run out of insulin. As a result, there have been instances of children dying because they were rationing their insulin. Recently, with the government shutdown, one government worker made the news because she was forced to rationalize her insulin.
Most families have the issue that they make too much money to get government help but, they don’t have enough money to pay for all the supplies. This topic is really important to me because I have type 1 diabetes and my family has to deal with the cost of insulin increasing. I have to live with diabetes, I don't have a choice. I didn't ask to have this disease. So, when the cost of insulin increases, my family and I have no choice but, to pay for it. Every 2 to 3 months we have to pay $400 dollars worth of insulin. We have to pay these outrageous prices because there is no alternative. I know a couple of type 1 diabetic families who are struggling to make ends meet but, they have to figure out a way to get the money. With the costs increasing every year, it makes so much harder for families to be finically stable. So, organizations like the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) are advocating for lower insulin costs and are pushing Congress to make it illegal to raise the cost so drastically.

To end on a lighter note, I'm going to talk about a couple of other diabetics who are important to me...
First off, one of my favorite diabetic activists is Derek Theler. He was on the hit tv-show "Baby Daddy" and he really brings awareness to the community. He himself was diagnosed at 3 years old and he proudly "shows off" his type 1 diabetes. Derek supports the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) whenever he can. He inspired me to start promoting diabetes awareness more in my community. I started volunteering at JDRF walks and I became an advocate. Another diabetic activist I love is Nick Jonas. Nick got diagnosed at 13 years old. He really inspired me because, despite all the hardships, he fought through them and made his dreams come true.