Because legislation on over-all drug pricing is stalled, new legislation has been offered by Senator Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) to specifically lower the price of insulin.
Last week he said he’s hoping to get his bill through committee and onto the Senate floor by Easter, which falls on April 17 this year.
Warnock’s bill (S. 3700) would cap consumers’ out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month without changing the price drug makers charge for insulin. It would apply only to those who have insurance.
The bill currently has 29 co-sponsors, all Democrats or senators who caucus with Democrats. Although Warnock has said he thinks the idea ought to garner bipartisan support, so far no Republicans have signaled they will support it, even though a few of them have expressed concern about insulin prices in the past. However, this is an election year and it appears Republicans have no intention of supporting legislation that would give Democrats a legislative victory no matter how much it is supported by the public.
