{"id":19362,"date":"2019-05-24T14:03:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T22:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/colorado-caps-insulin-co-pays-at-100-for-insured-residents\/"},"modified":"2019-05-24T14:03:06","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T22:03:06","slug":"colorado-caps-insulin-co-pays-at-100-for-insured-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/associatednews.info\/content\/colorado-caps-insulin-co-pays-at-100-for-insured-residents\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado Caps Insulin Co-Pays At $100 For Insured Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Vanessa Romo<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n <\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n Enlarge this image<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

\n Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, pictured in January, signed a bill into law on Wednesday placing a $100 per month cap on insulin co-payments starting next year.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

David Zalubowski\/AP<\/p>\n

<\/b>
\n hide caption<\/b><\/b>\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

toggle caption<\/b><\/b>\n <\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

David Zalubowski\/AP<\/p>\n

<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

As nearly 7.5 million<\/a> Americans contend with covering the skyrocketing costs of insulin to manage the disease, diabetics in Colorado will soon have some relief. <\/p>\n

A new law<\/a>, signed by Gov. Jared Polis earlier this week, caps co-payments of the lifesaving medication at $100 a month for insured patients, regardless of the supply they require. Insurance companies will have to absorb the balance. <\/p>\n

The law also directs the state’s attorney general to launch an investigation into how prescription insulin prices are set throughout the state and make recommendations to the legislature. <\/p>\n

Colorado is the first state to enact such sweeping legislation aiming to shield patients from dramatic insulin price increases. <\/p>\n

“One in four type 1 diabetics have reported insulin underuse due to the high cost of insulin … [t]herefore, it is important to enact policies to reduce the costs for Coloradans with diabetes to obtain life-saving and life-sustaining insulin,” the law states. <\/p>\n

The price of the drug in the U.S. has increased exponentially in recent years. Between 2002 and 2013, it tripled, according to 2016 study<\/a> published in the medical journal JAMA. It found the price of a milliliter of insulin rose from $4.34 in 2002 to $12.92 in 2013. And a March report <\/a>from the House of Representatives, found “prices continued to climb, nearly doubling between 2012 and 2016.” <\/p>\n