Why is the Cost of Insulin So High? The Drug's Hefty Price Tag, Explained

'The Build Back Better bill includes a measure to cap insulin co-pays at $35 a month for people with health insurance. It's an attempt to control the skyrocketing costs of the drug, which isn’t optional for some 10 million people in the U.S. who need insulin to manage their diabetes. Without it, they would die. Even with health insurance, some people are paying up to $1,000 a month for insulin. Dr. Jing Luo tells Here & Now the list price of insulin — the price set by manufacturers but not necessarily what patients or providers pay — has increased between 300% to 500%. That’s because there are a limited number of manufactures in the U.S., he says. “When you have a setting where there [are] only a few suppliers, but the demand for the medication is quite great,” he says, “it results in a situation where manufacturers can raise their prices without much blowback”.'