SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The cost of insulin could decrease for diabetes patients and their families after a bill capping copays at $100 a month was advanced by Utah lawmakers.
The House Health and Human Services Committee unanimously approved the bill that would place a cap on the amount certain insurance plans can charge for a month’s supply of insulin, the Deseret News reported Thursday.
The bill will next move to the full House for consideration.
“It curtails the cost to the public,” said Kelly Atkinson, director at the Utah Health Insurance Association. But “the pharmaceutical companies control the cost of insulin.”
Atkinson added that the bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Norm Thurston, would do nothing to bring the overall costs of insulin down.
Republican state Rep. Paul Ray argued the cost for certain drugs is higher because insurers negotiate hefty rebates on the medications. However, those rebates are passed to the consumer by reduced premiums, Atkinson said.
“I think it will move the needle significantly,” Republican state Rep. Brad Daw said. “This has some really good provisions that will really help the consumer when it comes to insulin.”
