Colorado Becomes First State to Cap Insulin Prices at $100

Brut America

He lost his little brother to Type 1 diabetes. For Colorado State Representative Dylan Roberts the fight to cap insulin prices isn't just politics, it's personal.

Transcript

00:00My little brother died because of type 1 diabetes.

00:15He had a diabetic seizure, fell and hit his head and passed away from complications related

00:21to that fall.

00:22Murphy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when he was 10 years old.

00:24I got to see every single day what it means to be injecting yourself with insulin multiple

00:29times a day to constantly be checking your blood sugar.

00:31When I became a legislator, by that time the cost of insulin had skyrocketed and so I knew

00:37that I wanted to do something about it.

00:46I had a bill last year about insulin prices and it didn't make it all the way to the governor's

00:50desk and so we kept working at it and finally got something that made it all the way to

00:55the governor's desk.

00:56I was really proud and humbled and mostly happy for the countless number of people and

01:03advocates who came to the capitol for committee hearing after committee hearing to explain

01:09why this bill is needed and how much of a difference it will make in their daily lives.

01:26Insulin is only manufactured and sold by three companies in the United States and mostly

01:38across the world.

01:39There's no generic competition for insulin and the patents for insulin are held so tightly

01:44and secretively that it is a disincentive for other people to get into the market.

01:50And then we also see these insulin companies raising their prices at the exact same amount

01:54at the exact same time.

02:09Insulin to me is like oxygen to you.

02:12So think about if you went to the pharmacy to go get your bottle of oxygen and for years

02:19it was always $20 and then one day you showed up at the pharmacy and they said oh sorry

02:24it's refilled too soon you can't get your oxygen today you'll die or how about oh if

02:32you want your your oxygen today it's $350.

02:42If people want to see this in their state figure out who your representative your state

02:45representative is figure out who your state senator is reach out to them let's see this

02:49start trickle out across the country.

02:51I desperately am calling for leadership from the U.S. Congress and the president because

02:55people are really struggling with these drug prices.

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