Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
'People Are Losing Their Lives': California Sues Over Insulin Prices
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 2 years ago on
January 14, 2023

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

SACRAMENTO — California on Thursday announced it will sue the companies that make and promote most of the nation’s insulin, accusing them of scheming to illegally increase the price of the drug and demanding they return millions of dollars to some diabetics who state officials say were overcharged for the medicine they must have to survive.

The lawsuit, to be filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by Attorney General Rob Bonta, is the latest in a parade of legal actions against these companies from states across the political spectrum — all who have accused the corporate giants of abusing their power to quash competition and boost their profits by keeping the price of insulin high.

A 2021 study by the RAND Corporation comparing the insulin prices of nearly three dozen countries found prices in the United States were about 10 times higher than everywhere else. The average price of a vial of insulin in the United States was $98, while in nearby Canada it was $12.

Attorneys general in Kansas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Kentucky have all filed similar lawsuits in recent years.

“It is not a partisan issue,” said Bonta, a Democrat who was elected to his first full term in November. Bonta said state attorneys general from both major political parties “all say the same thing: That the status quo is unacceptable and problematic and awful.”

Bonta sued three companies that make insulin — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi — and three companies that manage prescription drug programs that provide insulin — CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and Optum Rx.

Bonta said the manufacturers raise the price of insulin “in lockstep with each other.” The prescription drug managers then negotiate with the manufacturers to get a percentage of that price in exchange for prominently promoting their high-price insulin over cheaper alternatives.

“People are losing their lives because they can’t afford the drug,” Bonta said.

Pharmaceutical Companies Deny Accusations

Daphne Dorsey, associate director for media relations for Eli Lilly, said the company is “disappointed by the California Attorney General’s false accusations.” She said the average monthly out-of-pocket cost for Lilly insulin is $21.80, a 44% decrease over the past five years. She urged anyone paying more than $35 a month for Lilly insulin to contact the company.

A representative for Novo Nordisk declined to comment on the lawsuit. But the company provided background information saying the net prices for its insulin products — the list price minus rebates and discounts — have fallen in each of the past five years “in large part to the significant rebates and discounts manufacturers pay to ensure access for patients.”

Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications for CVS Health, said the manufacturers alone set the list price for their products.

“Nothing in our agreements prevents drug manufacturers from lowering the prices of their insulin products and we would welcome such action,” he said. “Allegations that we play any role in determining the prices charged by manufacturers are false. We plan to vigorously defend against this complaint.”

A statement from Optum Rx said the company “welcomes the opportunity to show the California Office of the Attorney General, just as it has with other States Attorneys General, how we work every day to provide people with access to affordable drugs, including insulin.”

Canadian Scientists Discover Insulin a Century Ago, but Now Three Companies Dominate the Market

Insulin is made by the pancreas and is used by the human body to convert the food we eat into energy. People who have diabetes don’t produce enough insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day to survive.

A team of Canadian scientists discovered insulin a century ago. They sold the patent to the University of Toronto for just $1, hoping to avoid a monopoly that could cause high prices. But eventually, the market came to be dominated by just three companies.

Kevin Wren, an activist associated with the California chapter of #Insulin4All, said he must take insulin every day to survive. Around 2009, Wren said he was working two jobs and did not have health insurance. He had to ration his insulin, taking less than the recommended dosage to make it last longer — a dangerous practice that he said ended up putting him in the hospital with ketoacidosis, a serious complication of diabetes.

Today, Wren says he has good health insurance and doesn’t have to ration his supply of insulin. He said he skirts the law each month by providing people insulin from someone else’s prescription “all so that they don’t have to ration.”

The big insulin manufacturing companies have assistance programs to help people purchase insulin. Novo Nordisk said in 2021 that more than a million people used some form of the company’s assistance when purchasing its insulin.

 

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Sanctions Target Deliveries of Oil and Gas to Houthis

DON'T MISS

Putin Orders 3-Day Truce in Ukraine Next Month, Kremlin Says

DON'T MISS

Timberwolves Push Lakers to Edge of Elimination With Comeback Win

DON'T MISS

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

DON'T MISS

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

DON'T MISS

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

DON'T MISS

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

DON'T MISS

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

DON'T MISS

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

UP NEXT

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

UP NEXT

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

UP NEXT

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

UP NEXT

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

UP NEXT

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

UP NEXT

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

UP NEXT

The Latest: Francis Is Remembered as a ‘Pope Among the People’ as He Is Laid to Rest

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

23 minutes ago

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

26 minutes ago

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

34 minutes ago

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

42 minutes ago

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

48 minutes ago

Fresno Man Ejected, Killed in High-Speed Wreck Following Pursuit

56 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Naomi Kaylynn Acker

1 hour ago

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

1 hour ago

California Faces Automaker Backlash Over 2035 Gas Car Ban

1 hour ago

Wall Street Mixed in Start to Busy Week for Earnings, Data

1 hour ago

US Sanctions Target Deliveries of Oil and Gas to Houthis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. imposed sanctions on Monday on three vessels and their owners for delivering oil and gas products to Y...

5 minutes ago

Protesters, predominantly supporters of the Houthi movement, hold up their weapons as they rally to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians, vowing that U.S. airstrikes would not deter their support, in Sanaa, Yemen April 25, 2025. (REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah)
5 minutes ago

US Sanctions Target Deliveries of Oil and Gas to Houthis

Damage in a parking lot struck in a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, April 14, 2025. The Kremlin said on Monday that President Vladimir Putin had ordered a three-day cease-fire in Ukraine next month, the second time in two weeks that Russia’s leader has promised a temporary pause in the fighting as President Trump shows growing impatience with his refusal to stop the war. (Tyler Hicks/The New York Times)
12 minutes ago

Putin Orders 3-Day Truce in Ukraine Next Month, Kremlin Says

18 minutes ago

Timberwolves Push Lakers to Edge of Elimination With Comeback Win

23 minutes ago

Dodgers Overcome Early Deficit for Victory Over the Pirates

Injured African migrants lie on hospital beds after a strike hit a detention centre hosting African migrants, in Saada, Yemen April 28, 2025. (REUTERS/Naif Rahma)
26 minutes ago

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

Norway officially established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on Thursday, April 24, 2025, strengthening its support for Palestinian independence amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza. (Shutterstock)
34 minutes ago

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

Kim Kardashian arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscars party after the 97th Academy Awards, in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., March 2, 2025. (REUTERS/Danny Moloshok/File Photo)
42 minutes ago

Kim Kardashian Jewel Heist Trial Starts in Paris

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) reacts after dunking over Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo during the second half of Game 4 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff series Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP/Jeffrey Phelps)
48 minutes ago

NBA Playoff Guide: Who Plays When, How to Watch, What the Odds Are

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend