Senator Patty Murray's office issued the following:
March 1, 2023
Senator Murray Statement on Eli Lilly Moving to Cut Cost of Insulin
Murray continues push to lower insulin costs for all patients after pressing manufacturers on dramatic price hikes
ICYMI: Murray pushes to cap insulin costs for all patients; effort blocked by most Senate Republicans – MORE HERE
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), issued the following statement on Eli Lilly’s announcement that it will cut the list price of its insulin products and improve its efforts to cap patients’ out-of-pockets costs at $35 a month.
“About time. This is a long overdue step. Year after year, big pharmaceutical companies have been jacking up the cost of lifesaving drugs like insulin—forcing patients across Washington state and the country to make absolutely unthinkable tradeoffs. I have pushed for an explanation as to why, over just the last decade, insulin prices have tripled—and haven’t gotten real answers. So this is a critical step forward, and I’ll be looking into the details of the company’s plans.
“But let’s also be clear: this is just one of three companies that make insulin in the U.S.—so we’ve got much more to do to make sure no one is forced to pay outrageous sums to simply fill the prescription they need to stay healthy. Last summer, we capped insulin costs at $35 a month for everyone on Medicare—and we got closer than ever to capping insulin costs for all patients, but most Senate Republicans stood in our way. It’s time we get it done. I’m going to keep pushing in Congress to cap the cost of insulin for everyone and lower health care costs for families.”
Senator Murray has long fought to lower patients’ prescription drug costs. She has been pushing to cap all patients’ insulin costs at $35 a month, and she worked with her Democratic colleagues last summer to successfully cap insulin at $35 a month for everyone on Medicare through the Inflation Reduction Act. As the Senate debated the legislation, Senator Murray also pushed hard to extend the legislation’s $35/month insulin cap to patients on private insurance, imploring her colleagues not to strip the critical provision out of the package: “We have an opportunity to make a difference and permanently cap insulin… This should not be a hard vote to cast.” While all Senate Democrats voted to cap insulin for all patients at $35 a month, the vast majority of Senate Republicans voted to strip the cap out of the final package.
As Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Murray led her Democratic colleagues in pressing the three major insulin manufacturers in the U.S. to explain dramatic recent insulin price increases.
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