How Much Do Diabetes Supplies/medications Cost In The U.s.?
While everyone’s diabetes treatment plan, medications, and technology may be different, there is one thing we can all agree on: diabetes is expensive. In two previous posts at The Perfect D, I gave some sense of what the bare minimum of care for a U.S. adult with Type 1 diabetes would be and also financial resources and programs to help with the financial burden of living with diabetes. However, this post is about how much it could cost an adult with Type 1 diabetes if they used the technology and medications that are currently out on the market (and thought of as “the latest and greatest”) and paid out of pocket with no insurance. Research on this topic has shown me that: 1) prices can fluctuate wildly, so it pays to shop around and 2) there is a very big gap (financially, medically, and technologically) between the bare minimum and “surviving” and actually utilizing the tools and latest technology that is out there. So, the hypothetical person for this exercise is a Type 1 adult in the United States who weighs 60kg, just like the other calculation post I did. Ground Rules These prices are accurate on the websites I have referenced for December 1, 2014. They may change, they may add shipping, they may not offer the services, technology, or drugs on their website after this is posted. These prices are not a guarantee. They are to be used as a reference. The listing of prices/websites on this post does not mean that I endorse the company or product or service. I have not listed all the products available on the market for people with Type 1 diabetes. I have listed major ones to give you an idea of major manufacturers’ costs for the products that are available for general public viewing. I did not call any companies and ask for pricing. Why? Because I believe Continue reading >>
Impact Of Type 2 Diabetes Medication Cost Sharing On Patient Outcomes And Health Plan Costs
Julia Thornton Snider, PhD; Seth Seabury, PhD; Janice Lopez, PharmD, MPH; Scott McKenzie, MD; Yanyu Wu, PhD; and Dana P. Goldman, PhD An analysis of claims from over 90,000 patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) demonstrates that increased medication cost sharing is associated with higher rates of hospitalization and increased plan costs. ABSTRACT Objectives: To study the association between cost sharing for diabetes medications, adherence, hospitalization rates, and healthcare costs, with relationship to patient risk. Study Design: A retrospective claims analysis of data from 35 large, private, self-insured employers (2004 to 2012). Methods: We examined outcomes for 92,410 patients aged 18 to 64 years with a type 2 diabetes (T2D) diagnosis who filled at least 1 T2D prescription. First, we examined the relationship between adherence, measured as the proportion of days covered, and cost sharing, measured as the out-of-pocket cost to purchase a pre-specified bundle of T2D prescriptions. We then examined the association between adherence and hospital days. Simulations showed the effect of increased cost sharing on adherence and inpatient utilization. Results: A $10 increase in out-of-pocket cost was associated with a 1.9% reduction in adherence (P <.01). In turn, a 10% reduction in adherence was associated with a 15% increase in per-patient hospital days (0.17 days; P <.01). For the average plan, switching from low to high cost sharing reduced per-patient medication costs by $242 and increased per-patient hospitalization costs by $342, for a net increase of $100 in plan costs. Increases in per-patient costs were greater for high-risk patients, such as those with heart failure ($1328). Conclusions: Increased cost sharing for T2D medication was associated with reductions in pha Continue reading >>
What’s Behind Skyrocketing Insulin Prices?
Here’s a sticking point for diabetics: the cost of insulin more than tripled — from $231 to $736 a year per patient — between 2002 and 2013, according to a new analysis. The increase reflected rising prices for a milliliter of insulin, which climbed 197 percent from $4.34 per to $12.92 during the same period. Meanwhile, the amount of money spent by each patient on other diabetes medications fell 16 percent, to $502 from $600, according to a research letter published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Insulin is a life-saving medication,” said Dr. William Herman, a coauthor of the analysis and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “There are people with type 1 diabetes who will die without insulin. And while there have been incremental benefits in insulin products, prices have been rising. So there are people who can’t afford them. It’s a real problem.” The analysis also found that the cost of various widely used oral diabetes drugs either dropped in price or did not rise nearly as significantly as insulin. Metformin, for instance, which is available as a generic, fell to 31 cents in 2013 from $1.24 per tablet in 2002. And the newer class of diabetes drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors rose 34 percent since becoming available in 2006. The researchers analyzed data from nearly 28,000 diabetes found in the Medical Expenditure Panel, a database on health care costs maintained by the US Department of Health and Human Services. About 1 in 4 people used insulin and two-thirds took a pill. Toward the end of the study period, a small percentage began taking new injectable medicines that are designed to complement pills. There have been previous efforts to track insulin prices in recent years, bu Continue reading >>
The Cost Of Diabetes
In July, I went to order a refill of my pump and was refused. My account was overdue, and my pump company wouldn’t issue a refill until I could pay at least $400 of the $1200 I owed. I didn’t have $400. I am a freelance writer and stay-at-home mom with a knack for stretching my husband’s paycheck. I’d been making small monthly payments of about $50 because that was all we could afford, but now they wouldn’t send me any more. So I went to the pharmacy and bought a box of syringes for $25. I didn’t want to go back to multiple daily injections, but I didn’t see that I had a choice. It turns out that I’m not alone. A member of tuDiabetes writes, “I am no longer pumping…the supplies are too expensive, since I am starting my first semester of college. I just can’t afford it…which makes me really sad.” Another member writes, “My survival has come to rely on the kindness of others. Sometimes I have to choose to live without heat in the winter or electricity in order to afford my insulin and test strips. I wait for months and endless hours to attend the free clinic (which is overloaded with patients) and I haven’t seen an endo in years because I can’t afford it. There has to be another way…” One of the first things my pediatrician told my mom when I was diagnosed in 1985, at 14 years old, was that diabetes is one of the most expensive diseases. The expense didn’t really register with me until I graduated from college and was kicked off my parent’s health insurance plan. I had to find a job so that I could pay for test strips, insulin, and syringes instead of new clothes and shoes like my friends. Suddenly I was thrown into the adult world of trying to manage my finances. The cons (money spent on visits to the doctor and medical supplies) w Continue reading >>
How Can I Pay For Diabetes Medications And Care?
A run-down on insurance and other payment assistance programs for medical services and prescription medicines By Ava Runge and Lynn Kennedy This article is part of a series focused on helping people with diabetes navigate health insurance in the United States. What should we write about in our next segment? Email [email protected] with insurance questions you would like us to address! Navigating the complex insurance world can be frustrating and overwhelming, particularly for people with diabetes who interact with the healthcare system often. For this segment, diaTribe answers a commonly asked question from our readers: How Can I Pay for Diabetes Medications and Care? A background section with additional information on understanding health insurance can be found at the bottom. How Can I Pay for Diabetes Medications and Care? The primary way to pay for healthcare supplies and services is through health insurance, which can be obtained independently, through an employer, or from the government (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, and VA). Covered services and supplies – as well as the type of cost sharing between the insurer and the person insured – can differ considerably from plan to plan (click here for more on different types of health insurance options and here for information on decoding insurance language). While health insurance typically won’t cover 100% of medical expenses, it can go a long way in making treatment accessible. However, co-pays and premiums can add up quickly and make care difficult to afford. This is especially true for people with diabetes, who tend to use healthcare services frequently and often use multiple devices and medications to manage their diabetes. The good news is that where insurance doesn’t cover health expenses, there are many oth Continue reading >>
Drug Companies Are Profiting Huge As Diabetics Struggle To Afford Their Life
It’s of no surprise that many of Americans are struggling to afford their prescription drugs as prices continue to rise. But yet, little attention has been brought to the diabetes community. Where millions are dependent on a drug (hormone) that is needed everyday to stay alive. Diabetes has been around a very long time. There was a prescription for frequent urination, its most common symptom, on an Egyptian papyrus dating back to 1500 B.C. But it wasn’t until 1921 when a Canadian doctor named Dr. Frederick G. Banting and a medical student, Charles H. Best discovered insulin. Before insulin, the only treatment for Type 1 Diabetes was a starvation diet that inevitably led to death. Type 1 Diabetes is an autoimmune disease where your pancreas shuts down and no longer produces insulin. Type 2 Diabetes is where your body is resistant to insulin or doesn’t produce enough. In 1923, Dr. Frederick G. Banting sold the patent to the University of Toronto for $3 in hopes to ensure that no company could have a monopoly over this life-sustaining medication and everyone could have access to it. The discovery has transformed diabetes from a death sentence into a manageable disease. But once the University gave pharmaceutical companies the right to manufacture the drug royalty-free, diabetes quickly became their most profitable cash cow. Insulin is a billion-dollar industry with zero low-priced generic versions on the market. While most name-brand drugs have generic versions that cost less than half the price, insulin is different. Drug company officials defend their actions, saying they must bring in enough money for research and development. But critics say companies are hiding behind the innovation argument and are really just angling for bigger profits as the demand continues Continue reading >>
Drug Makers Accused Of Fixing Prices On Insulin
A lawsuit filed Monday accused three makers of insulin of conspiring to drive up the prices of their lifesaving drugs, harming patients who were being asked to pay for a growing share of their drug bills. The price of insulin has skyrocketed in recent years, with the three manufacturers — Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly — raising the list prices of their products in near lock step, prompting outcry from patient groups and doctors who have pointed out that the rising prices appear to have little to do with increased production costs. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accuses the companies of exploiting the country’s opaque drug-pricing system in a way that benefits themselves and the intermediaries known as pharmacy benefit managers. It cites several examples of patients with diabetes who, unable to afford their insulin treatments, which can cost up to $900 a month, have resorted to injecting themselves with expired insulin or starving themselves to control their blood sugar. Some patients, the lawsuit said, intentionally allowed themselves to slip into diabetic ketoacidosis — a blood syndrome that can be fatal — to get insulin from hospital emergency rooms. A recent study in The Journal of the American Medical Association found that the price of insulin nearly tripled from 2002 to 2013. “People who have to pay out of pocket for insulin are paying enormous prices when they shouldn’t be,” said Steve Berman, a lawyer whose firm filed the suit on behalf of patients and is seeking to have it certified as a class action. In a statement, Sanofi said, “We strongly believe these allegations have no merit, and will defend against these claims.” Lilly said it had followed all laws, adding, “We adhere to the highest ethical standards.” Continue reading >>
Cost Of Diabetes
Tweet The cost of diabetes to the NHS is over £1.5m an hour or 10% of the NHS budget for England and Wales. This equates to over £25,000 being spent on diabetes every minute. In total, an estimated £14 billion pounds is spent a year on treating diabetes and its complications, with the cost of treating complications representing the much higher cost. The prevalence of diabetes is estimated to rise to 4 million by 2025. Costs of diabetes treatment in the UK The following table represents the relative cost of diabetes treatment in the UK in 2012. Cost of diabetes treatment in the UK in 2012 Area of expenditure Type 1 diabetes Type 2 diabetes Total cost Percentage of costs Source: Kanavos, van den Aardweg and Schurer: Diabetes expenditure, burden of disease and management in 5 EU countries, LSE (Jan 2012) Diabetes drugs £0.344 billion £0.712 billion £1.056 billion 7.8% Non-diabetes drugs £0.281 billion £1.810 billion £2.091 billion 15.2% Inpatient £1.007 billion £8.038 billion £9.045 billion 65.8% Outpatient (excluding drugs) £0.170 billion £1.158 billion £1,328 billion 9.7% Other (including social service) - - £0.230 billion 1.7% Total £1.802 billion £11.718 billion £13.750 billion 100% The cost of diabetes complications A 2012 report from the London School of Economics, estimates that the cost of prescribing medication for complications of diabetes is around 3 to 4 times the cost of prescribing diabetes medication. Medication for cardiovascular disease constitutes the largest proportion of prescriptions costs for people with diabetes. Annual inpatient care, to treat short and long term complications of diabetes, is estimated at between £1,800 and £2,500 per patient. This compares with annual outpatient costs, which includes the cost of medications and Continue reading >>
Insulin Sticker Shock: The Cost Triples In 10 Years
En español | Insulin is essential for controlling abnormal blood sugar levels in those with diabetes, but while other diabetes drugs have dropped in price, the price tag for insulin has tripled in the last decade, according to a new analysis. American and Australian researchers looked at medical spending by nearly 28,000 patients with diabetes (average age about 60) from 2002 to 2013. Their analysis, published in JAMA, found that the average price of insulin jumped from $4.34 to $12.92 per millileter — a nearly 200 percent increase At the same time, the price for newer diabetes drugs called DPP-4 inhibitors, such as sitagliptin and linagliptin, increased 34 percent per tablet between 2006 and 2013, while older drugs like metformin fell by 93 percent. By 2013, patients were spending more annually on insulin — an estimated $736.09 — than they were spending on all other diabetes medications combined, at $502.57, the researchers reported. This is certainly not news for older adults, especially those on fixed incomes, who often are forced to skip doses or take a lower amount because they can’t afford it, says Robert Gabbay, M.D., chief medical officer at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, who was not involved in the research. “It’s a big issue for people with Type 2 diabetes, but it’s even worse for those with Type 1. They literally can’t live without it,” Gabbay said in an interview. Patients also run into trouble once they hit the donut hole in the Medicare Part D program and have to cover costs themselves, Jane Bridges, M.D., an endocrinologist in Vincennes, Ind., told PBS Newshour. “The cost of therapy is huge. I have patients who tell me that they have to stretch out the use of their medicines.” The study’s co-author, William Herman, M.D., a Continue reading >>
Budgeting For Diabetes Health Costs
Diabetes can be a costly condition to manage. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the cost of diabetes in the United States is more than $245 billion a year, which includes direct medical costs and the cost of reduced productivity. For a person living with diabetes, medical expenses are about 2.3 times higher than those for the average person without diabetes. People with diabetes accrue about $7,900 in diabetes-related healthcare costs annually and about $5,800 because of other health problems. One bright spot, according to the ADA, is the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010 and which has helped people with diabetes keep their insurance coverage and has broadened healthcare options to help manage costs. Whether you get your coverage through private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid, your employer, or the Affordable Care Act, it’s important to read the fine print on your policy so you understand all the costs, including deductibles, copays, and prescription costs. Breaking Down the Costs of Diabetes Researchers with the ADA crunched data from national surveys and health databases and determined that the bulk of diabetes costs occur in these categories: 43 percent for hospital inpatient care. 18 percent for prescription medications. 12 percent for anti-diabetic agents and supplies. 9 percent for physician office visits. 8 percent for residential care facilities. The data were published in the April 2013 issue of Diabetes Care. Shannon Knapp, RN, a diabetes educator at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, suggests looking at the following elements when calculating the cost of your diabetes care: Diabetes medications. These include oral medications, insulin, and other injectable medication for diabetes. "Some of the newer and Continue reading >>
Rising Cost Of Drugs For Diabetes Approaches £1 Billion Per Year
The net ingredient cost (NIC)(2) of drugs for diabetes has increased by £88.0 million in 2015/16, bringing the annual primary care prescribing spend on this drug classification to £956.7 million - around £2.6 million per day, figures published today show. *NHS Digital must be quoted as the source of these figures *Regional data are available within this report NHS Digital's report Prescribing for Diabetes 2005/06 to 2015/16 also shows that in the last financial year, 49.7 million prescription items3 were dispensed in England for the treatment and management of diabetes. The £956.7 million spend makes up 10.6 per cent of the total cost of all prescribing in primary care in England, and is almost double the cost of a decade ago, when it was £513.9 million, or 6.6 per cent of the overall spend. Since 2007/08, the British National Formulary classification Drugs used in diabetes4 has accounted for the highest cost of all drug sections, while the number of prescription items dispensed in this category has also increased every year since 2005/06. This is in line with a steady increase year on year in the percentage of the population being treated for diabetes. On a national level, the Quality and Outcomes Framework5 report of 2014/15 shows that the average percentage of all GP-registered patients, aged 17 and over, in England, being treated for diabetes has increased from 5.3 per cent in 2009/10 to 6.4 per cent in 2014/15. This means in 2014/15 there were 2.9 million adults in England receiving treatment for diabetes. Further analysis for the 2015/16 financial year in Prescribing for Diabetes shows: 17.9 per cent of Newham CCG's total prescribing spend was on drugs used in diabetes maintenance - the highest percentage of all CCGs in England. Newham also had the highest pe Continue reading >>
Trends In Outpatient Prescription Drug Costs In Diabetic Patients In Germany, 1994–2004
OBJECTIVE—New antidiabetic medications have been introduced during the last decade, but their impact on health care cost is largely unknown. Prescription costs in diabetic patients in primary care in Germany were evaluated (1994–2004). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 46,017 diabetic patients and 46,017 age- and sex-matched control subjects in 400 nationwide practices (2004) were compared with 29,956 diabetic patients and 13,226 control subjects (361 practices) in 1994 (data from IMS HEALTH). Inflation-adjusted age- and sex-standardized costs (ex-manufacturer prices) were calculated. RESULTS—Mean annual total prescription costs per diabetic patient were €559 in 2004 (€372 in 1994), equaling a 60% (standardized) increase (P < 0.01). Average costs for antidiabetic medication were €172 in 2004, a 100% increase (P < 0.01). The major antidiabetic cost factor was insulin and analogs, which accounted for 22% of total drug costs in diabetic patients in 2004 (17% in 1994). All oral antidiabetic drugs together accounted for 8% of total costs (6% in 1994). New drugs (glitazones, glinides, and insulins) accounted for 15% of total costs (40% of antidiabetic drugs) in 2004. A 40% increase (€387 vs. 286) in all non–diabetes-related drugs was due mainly to cardiovascular and lipid-lowering drugs. In nondiabetic patients, only a 30% cost increase was found (€210 vs. 147; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS—Prescription drug costs among diabetic patients increased 60% during the last decade, which was twofold higher than the increase in nondiabetic patients. New types of antidiabetic drugs accounted for a substantial cost share of the overproportional increase for diabetes treatment. Progress in pharmacological therapy is a key driver of drug expenditure growth in diabetes Continue reading >>
A 93-year-old Drug That Can Cost More Than A Mortgage Payment Tells Us Everything That's Wrong With American Healthcare
A person administers an injection of insulin. AP Insulin has been around since 1923, so it came as a surprise in July 2015 when Cole LePere's doctor told his mother, Janine, to prepare to pay a lot at the pharmacy for it. Cole, who was 10, had just been found to have Type 1 diabetes. But even the pharmacist was shocked to see the price. Over and over, the pharmacist told Janine LePere, "This is really expensive." Each time she would respond, "I know, thanks, but I still need the medicine." The pharmacist finally gave the LePeres the supplies — and a bill for $1,550. That was after a $350 coupon. As lawmakers and the public scrutinize dramatic price increases for other old drugs — most recently with the Mylan-owned EpiPen, which saw its cost go up by 500% in the past nine years — the next flash point may be insulin, a drug both ubiquitous and complicated. And the story of why the LePeres are now paying as much as their mortgage payment on insulin, even though they have insurance and even though there are competing drugs on the market, is really the story of what has happened to the healthcare industry in America since the start of the century. The need for insulin The human body produces its own insulin. Some people can't. When he got the diagnosis, Cole LePere found himself one of nearly 29.1 million Americans known to have one of the two types of diabetes. Cole's kind, known as Type 1, is an autoimmune disease. His body mistakenly kills so-called beta cells that are supposed to make the body's insulin, a hormone that helps people absorb and process the sugar in food. The roughly 1.25 million people in the US who have Type 1 diabetes need to inject insulin to live. Type 2 diabetes, the more common form, is something that develops either based on genetic or lifesty Continue reading >>
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Diabetes Drug Costs
Here at DiabetesSelfManagement.com, we often discuss newly developed drugs and treatments for diabetes. In fact, blogger Amy Campbell has written a series on diabetes drugs — including newer options — and recently here at Diabetes Flashpoints, we discussed inhaled insulin. We do, of course, discuss older treatments all the time, but the steady arrival of new diabetes drugs on the market means that these treatments get a lot of ink and pixels. The diabetes drug landscape has shifted dramatically since 20 years ago, when insulin and a small group of oral drugs were the only treatments for Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The wide array of current options — most of them for Type 2 diabetes — has, however, come at a cost. The amount of money spent on treating diabetes is substantial and has been rising in recent years, as noted in an article at Kaiser Health News. In 2014, the article notes, per-person spending on diabetes drugs was higher than for any other group of traditional drugs for the fourth straight year. Moreover, fewer than half of these prescriptions were for generic drugs — indicating that newer drugs, as well as insulin, accounted for the bulk of this spending. According to a study published in 2015 by the Health Care Cost Institute — which the Kaiser article mentions — health-care spending for people with diabetes in 2013 averaged $14,999, compared with $4,305 for people without diabetes, within a group of 40 million people under age 65 with employer-sponsored insurance. Not only were total costs higher, but out-of-pocket costs were also higher for people with diabetes, who spent an average of $1,922 on deductibles and copays, compared with $738 for people without diabetes. The out-of-pocket burd Continue reading >>
Insulin Prices Have Skyrocketed, Putting Drug Makers On The Defensive
Here’s a sticking point for diabetics: the cost of insulin more than tripled — from $231 to $736 a year per patient — between 2002 and 2013, according to a new analysis. The increase reflected rising prices for a milliliter of insulin, which climbed 197 percent from $4.34 per to $12.92 during the same period. Meanwhile, the amount of money spent by each patient on other diabetes medications fell 16 percent, to $502 from $600, according to a research letter published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Insulin is a life-saving medication,” said Dr. William Herman, a coauthor of the analysis and a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. “There are people with type 1 diabetes who will die without insulin. And while there have been incremental benefits in insulin products, prices have been rising. So there are people who can’t afford them. It’s a real problem.” The analysis also found that the cost of various widely used oral diabetes drugs either dropped in price or did not rise nearly as significantly as insulin. Metformin, for instance, which is available as a generic, fell to 31 cents in 2013 from $1.24 per tablet in 2002. And the newer class of diabetes drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors rose 34 percent since becoming available in 2006. The researchers analyzed data from nearly 28,000 diabetes patients found in the Medical Expenditure Panel, a database on health care costs maintained by the US Department of Health and Human Services. About 1 in 4 people used insulin and two-thirds took a pill. Toward the end of the study period, a small percentage began taking new injectable medicines that are designed to complement pills. There have been previous efforts to track insulin pric Continue reading >>
