A Minnesota based health insurer, Medica, announced today it will expand its cap on the maximum amount members in North Dakota will pay for their insulin.
Starting January 1, 2020, all members of fully insured commercial groups headquartered in North Dakota and individual ACA members in North Dakota will pay no more than $25 for each 30-day supply of insulin.
This enhancement will apply to all insulin covered by their plan.
Just last week, the insurer introduced the program for its members in Minnesota, capping customers’ insulin costs at $25 a month also.
This benefit improvement will not have an effect on member premiums already filed with the State of North Dakota for 2020.
“The cost of insulin poses a significant financial burden for many people,” said John Naylor, Medica president, and CEO in a statement. “Our leadership team decided to make an investment in our North Dakota members to limit their financial burden and we came up with this solution.”
The list price of insulin has more than doubled in the last decade and large drug manufacturers have been coming into scrutiny lately for the inflated pricing of insulin.
Drugmakers point to existing programs in place to help people who cannot afford their medication. They also point fingers to pharmacy benefit managers, who also play a role in the rising cost of insulin.
Bipartisan senators introduced the Insulin Price Reduction Act in the United States Senate late last month.
If approved, the legislation would roll back over a decade of increasing insulin prices, many who say is years of price gouging by the pharmaceutical industry.
Source:
- Medica. (2019, August 13). Medica Introduces Insulin Cost Relief Program in North Dakota. Business Wire. Retrieved August 13, 2019, from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190813005498/en