Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

So, you might have seen this news from Eli Lilly and Company this week…

Lilly Diabetes Solution Center Now Open to Help People with Insulin Affordability

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the short version: Lilly Diabetes has set up a dedicated unit with the purpose of helping people who are having trouble covering their insulin costs.

This is just my viewpoint, and you are free to disagree if you like. I’ve considered this announcement with the old Pros and Cons exercise. First the Cons, then the Pros.
 
 
Cons

– When I think of the term “Diabetes Solution Center”, I think of a mythical place where I’d go to be cured of this condition. That would make insulin a hell of a lot less expensive.

– Insulin is too expensive, price increases have been far too frequent, and we can measure Lilly’s revenue from insulin in billions of dollars. Per year. Why not just lower the price?

– You can only access the Diabetes Solution Center by phone. And it’s not a toll free call. In addition, the Diabetes Solution Center is only open from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time (US) Monday through Friday. That’s 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the west coast, and 3:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in Honolulu.

– Most people, especially vulnerable populations, only find out about price increases when they go to fill their prescriptions. Many pharmacists, because of contracts they sign with Pharmacy Benefit Managers, aren’t allowed to inform patients of the Diabetes Solution Center. That’s what’s known in business circles as a “gap”.
 
 
Pros

– The day before this announcement, Eli Lilly & Co. didn’t have this option available to patients who struggle to afford the insulin they need to live.

– Lilly is spending money on technology and manpower to staff the Diabetes Solution Center.

– I think, and this is just my interpretation, that Lilly Diabetes is finally coming to grips with the fact that insulin affordability and insulin access are major issues. You can opine on how much they have to do with insulin affordability in America, but again… no one is holding a gun to their heads to force them to do this.

– If one person, or two people, or a hundred people are helped so they feel less burden, pay less for insulin, get more assistance in meeting their deductible, the Diabetes Solution Center will be a godsend for those who are impacted.
 
 
As much as it pains me to admit it, we were never going to go from non-affordable insulin to affordable insulin overnight. This move by Eli Lilly & Co. stops far short of what almost all of us want. But at least it’s a move in the right direction. Incremental change is still change.