Insulin Affordability

Over nearly three decades … Lilly has raised the list price on its most widely used insulin product, Humalog, by more than 1,000 percent, which is why I greet Lilly’s announcement of the $35 a month out of pocket cap for the commercially insured with both joy and sorrow.

Is it, Lilly had a great gig going with those Humalog price run ups and now knows all good things must end? Or, give a little to avoid being forced to give a great deal more on general pharmaceutical pricing? And, what about those who are not commercially insured, who must seek this insulin price relief for out of pocket purchases, for example, by applying to Lilly’s co-pay support program? What will happen to them?

Fixing the Family Glitch

The final regulation is out from HHS attempting to fix what is know as “the family glitch” and giving a further 200,000 Americans opportunity access subsidized health insurance coverage through the exchanges. If you think about, it is amazing it took so long from the Affordable Care Act’s inception and implementation to address the fallout from allowing household family members to be within the definition of those eligible for exchange purchase because of unaffordability of employer offered family plan health insurance. In short, those opposing the fix maintain that the drafters meant those offered employer sponsored insurance that exceeds roughly 9.4 percent of their income for a family plan should seek publicly funded insurance, charity, or go without.

The Significance of the End of the COVID Emergency

The political maneuvering around declaring COVID over and done is absolutely fascinating. But, today, I am interested in the official end of the declaration of public health emergency by the federal government. So much hinges on the termination date: HIPAA requirement waivers; nursing home staffing standards waivers, are two that loom large. Today, I learned the official termination of the federal pronouncement of the public health emergency has been extended until January 1, 2023.