Just days after U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren and Richard Blumenthal blasted Eli Lilly’s authorized generic program for insulins, claiming that the company failed to take important steps to provide lower-cost access to important diabetes drugs, the company bounced back with an open letter published in several top U.S. newspapers today.
In the letter, Eli Lilly and Company chairman and CEO Dave Ricks encouraged anyone who needs help affording their monthly prescription of Lilly insulin to call the Lilly Diabetes Solution Center.
The company acknowledged in a press release that millions of Americans who use insulin will face high-deductible insurance payments when many insurance plans reset in January.
“Without adequate support, people with high deductible plans – as well as people without insurance at all – often find insulin and other treatments for diabetes unaffordable,” the press release stated.
Because of this, Lilly outlined several solutions to help address this gap in the health care system:
- For people with commercial (non-government) insurance, monthly pharmacy prescriptions are capped at $95 for many Lilly insulins.
- Lilly donates insulin to more than 150 free clinics across the U.S.
- If you earn 400 percent or less of the Federal Poverty Level (approximately $50,000 as a single person or $103,000 for a family of 4) you may be eligible for insulin at no cost.
The company also stated that if patients have an immediate need and nowhere else to turn, it would help then get insulin right away.
The letter from Ricks is appearing in more than 40 newspapers this week, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and USA Today.
The ad will also appear in Spanish-language newspapers such as el Nuevo Herald in Miami, Fin de Semana in Chicago and Excelsior in Los Angeles.
The print campaign precedes a significant digital advertising campaign in numerous news and consumer publications starting later this month through March.
The full letter from Ricks can be found in both English and Spanish at lilly.com.
Health care professionals at the Lilly Diabetes Solution Center can be contacted at (833) 808-1234 from 9 am to 8 pm (EST) Monday through Friday.
Source:
- Eli Lilly and Company. (2019, December 19). Lilly Launches Campaign to Increase Awareness of Insulin Cost-Saving Options. PR Newswire. Retrieved December 19, 2019, from https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lilly-launches-campaign-to-increase-awareness-of-insulin-cost-saving-options-300977149.html