Klobuchar Aims To Lower Cost Of Insulin For Minnesotans With Diabetes
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Senator Amy Klobuchar is discussing ways to bring down the cost of prescription drugs for people dealing with diabetes.
Reports cited by the Klobuchar camp indicate the price of insulin has more than tripled in the last decade. Senator Klobuchar is calling for congressional action to curb the cost.
On Sunday, she was joined by Minnesota families impacted by the disease. The Wiltrout family says they are lucky they can afford insulin for their daughter, Maraya, but there are many Minnesota families who cannot.
"And it makes me wonder what choices will Maraya have to make? I think back to my first job out of college and I don't know about you but I didn't make very much at that time. If I had to choose between bills, food and student loan payments and I also had to pay $5,000 a month just to stay alive every year, I would've been completely overwhelmed," Shari Wiltrout, the mother of a teenager with diabetes, said.
Senator Klobuchar says there's not enough competition in the marketplace, and that's why prices get so high. Roughly 30 million Americans have diabetes, which includes more than 320,000 Minnesotans.