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A bipartisan bill introduced Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and other lawmakers would cap the cost of insulin at $35 per month.

The legislation is also co-sponsored by Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana.

“Tens of millions of Americans rely on insulin as part of their daily treatment, and for many, it’s literally a matter of life and death,” Collins said in a statement Wednesday. “I have heard far too many stories from people in Maine and across the country who have been forced to ration their insulin because of the cost, and that is simply unacceptable.”

The bill would cap the cost for people on private and employer insurance and also create a pilot grant program for 10 states to offer the same price for people with diabetes who are uninsured, according to the news release from Collins’ office. The bill does not specify which states would be included in the pilot program.

Maine passed a state law in 2020 capping the cost of insulin at $35 per month for insurers that are regulated by the Maine Bureau of Insurance. That law affects about 21% of the insured population, or about 267,000 Maine residents, according to the insurance bureau.

Over 38 million people in the U.S., and about 116,500 in Maine, have diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.

About 20% of diabetes patients with large-employer insurance paid more than $35 per month for insulin, according to a 2022 analysis by KFF, a health policy think tank.

The bill is the latest attempt to regulate insulin prices, including similar bills proposed in recent years by Collins and U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. The Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 capped monthly prices for Medicare Part D patients at $35.

Joe Lawlor writes about health and human services for the Press Herald. A 24-year newspaper veteran, Lawlor has worked in Ohio, Michigan and Virginia before relocating to Maine in 2013 to join the Press...

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