Mark Warner on Capping the Cost of Insulin

From U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), editorial comment below...

"

Friends,

As the father of a Type 1 diabetic, I’ve watched firsthand as insulin prices have quadrupled over my daughter’s lifetime.

My family has been fortunate enough to be able to cover her costs, but I know this crisis is really squeezing millions of folks that rely on insulin. So for years, I’ve worked towards a plan to cut costs for insulin users… and we finally got a huge solution done last August. When we passed the Inflation Reduction Act, we capped insulin costs at $35/month for those covered by Medicare prescription drug plans.

This was a critical, seismic achievement. Almost 75,000 Virginians will directly benefit from the insulin cap, and over 3 million seniors nationwide. So for this year’s State of the Union address, I wanted to invite a guest who would benefit from these savings.

That’s why this year, Marguerite Bailey Young of Fredericksburg accompanied me to watch President Biden speak! Mrs. Young is 94 years young, a widow, and a retired teacher and principal. We spent the evening together so I could hear more about what these savings mean. Read more about her experience in The Free Lance-Star or hear directly from her in this video!

I’m proud to have gotten the IRA done for Mrs. Young and for all Virginians. During the original voting on the IRA, I fought to get this provision extended to all Americans, but unfortunately met resistance from my Republican colleagues. I’m going to keep fighting until all Virginians, no matter what health insurance they’ve got, have these critical payments capped at $35/month.  

In the meantime, I’m thankful for the other cost-saving measures we accomplished for folks on Medicare through the IRA, like FREE vaccines and an annual cap of $2,000 for all prescription drugs. I’m ready to keep fighting to lower your health care costs further. If you want to share your thoughts about health care or an issue that’s important to you, you can send me an email any time using the form on my Senate website. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely, [that signature graphic Google doesn't like] Mark Warner

"

Comment:  I'm glad that Principal Young lived to have that experience. 

For some readers, the reminder. There are two types of diabetes. Type I is caused by permanent damage and is not curable by diet and exercise. People with Type I diabetes get some benefit from diet and exercise, but still have to take insulin as long as they live. No shaming the insulin-dependent is allowed here. This web site is officially sorry to hear about the Senator's daughter. 

No shaming people who had sincere hopes for the COVID vaccines, either: some vaccines do save lives, and those vaccines were not necessarily the first ones tried. 

For those who can do the diet and exercise, working with your doctor and staying on insulin until you're completely free from the need, this web site is doing a series about how I find the time, the money, even the food itself to eat my restricted diet, and you can too. You are encouraged to contact our e-friends, the McDougalls, at https://www.drmcdougall.com/ , for help finding a doctor who can work with you. In these days of self-diagnosis by Internet, it's important to remember that different diet plans work for different people. As a diabetic you should get a diet planned for you.