How can Public Pharma Benefit Us?

The private corporate entities involved in the insulin supply chain share one unifying goal - to make the most profit possible for their shareholders. This means they are guided not by what is best for patients or communities but by what will allow them to continue to make the most money. The current faulty system has resulted in 1 in 4 people with type 1 diabetes worldwide rationing insulin due to cost. Public pharma—placing the manufacturing, distribution, and pricing of prescription drugs like insulin into public, rather than corporate, hands—offers a long-term solution to high-cost pharmaceuticals.

States manufacturing their own pharmaceuticals can provide more competition in the market, though it also requires upfront investment. States can also choose to bulk purchase drugs on behalf of their citizens, as Utah and those participating in ArrayRx (CT, UT, WA, OR) have done, or enter into public-private partnerships, as California has done with its CalRx program for both insulin and Naloxone to take steps toward delivering lower cost insulin to patients.

Any state that commits to public investment in insulin access will save money in the short and long term. They can count on a reduction inemergency room visits for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a consequence of rationing that costs an average of $30,000 per ER visit, and far fewer complications caused by the inability to correctly manage diabetes with insulin, such as amputations, kidney failure, vision damage, and more. 

In 2019, taxpayer-funded programs like Medicare and Medicaid spent over $120 billion on total health expenditures, including over $25 billion on insulin. If patients were able to buy their medicine at a price that is close to the manufacturing cost–or better yet, receive it for free–money would be saved and quality of life would be vastly improved.