Dear Elected Officials,

We live and vote in your states, and all of us have type 1 diabetes or love someone with the life-long, non-preventable autoimmune disease. We want to talk about the insulin pricing crisis, and we want you to make the issue part of your legislative priorities.

Insulin is as necessary to a diabetic as oxygen, yet people with diabetes around the country are suffering from lack of access to insulin. Here are a few facts on this issue to put it in perspective:

• Over 6 million Americans are insulin dependent in the US.
• Prices of insulin have been rising at an alarming rate for over a decade, with insulin manufacturers raising their prices in lock step with each other.
• Insulin prices have increased over 1000% in the last 20 years, and they continue to rise.
• Even with insurance, people are paying an average of at least $210 per month for insulin alone and up to 50% of their annual income on diabetes costs.
• These prices are so high that people with diabetes are forced to resort to drastic measures just to stay alive.
• Many people with diabetes are rationing their insulin, and an increasing number of people have died because they could not afford it.

Across the country, T1International has supported individuals and groups to unite and speak up against these unconscionable prices and the crisis those prices have created. The #insulin4all campaign has been advocating on social media, meeting to plan action, and leading in-person demonstrations.

Current elected officials and candidates need to be speaking on access to insulin and high insulin prices. Those of us who have been fighting for affordable insulin at the state, national, and global levels encourage all officials to push for full transparency and accountability of all parties involved in the pricing of insulin.

We request your leadership to pursue legislative action to address this crisis and bring price transparency to insulin. To start, we would like to see every state pass legislation similar to Nevada’s Senate Bill 539 passed in June 2017. This bill requires pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers disclose the costs of insulin, justifications for these costs, and any factors leading to price increases.

If you are not already supporting #insulin4all, we want you to join the conversation and to educate you about the situation. For starters, here is a resource that highlights key issues and progress that has been made so far.

We would love to discuss insulin pricing further, so we hope you will be willing to meet with us and listen to us. Please help create spaces to discuss the current issues around insulin pricing and provide a platform to have our stories heard. Let us support you with resources and roadmaps that can lead to improvements and, ultimately, an end to this crisis.

Sincerely,
T1International & representatives of the #insulin4all community