AMA: Federal government must tackle rising insulin prices

AMA: federal government must tackle rising insulin prices

(HealthDay)—U.S. officials need to take action to control spiking insulin prices, the American Medical Association (AMA) says.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department should monitor pricing and market competition and take any necessary enforcement measures, AMA members agreed at the group's annual meeting. The nation's largest physicians group said the rising cost of insulin is causing big financial problems for , Medicare and Medicaid.

The mean price of insulin rose nearly 200 percent between 2002 and 2013, from $4.34 to $12.92 per milliliter. Currently, at least five states and a federal prosecutor are seeking information from insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers, and class action lawsuits have been filed on behalf of patients.

"It is shocking and unconscionable that our patients struggle to secure a basic medicine like insulin," AMA board member William McDade, M.D, said in a news release from the group. "The federal government needs to step in and help make sure patients aren't being exploited with exorbitant costs. The AMA also plans to educate physicians and policymakers on ways to tackle this problem, and transparency from manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers is a good place to start."

More information: More Information

Copyright © 2018 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Citation: AMA: Federal government must tackle rising insulin prices (2018, June 15) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-06-ama-federal-tackle-insulin-prices.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

A young life lost to high insulin prices

1 shares

Feedback to editors