by Lexi Kimmel ‘21

Ever been scared to get a shot from the doctor? To give blood? For diabetics across the world, they must go through this painstaking process daily, and often multiple times per day. Constant tracking of blood sugar, eating when it gets low, taking insulin shots when it’s high. Diabetes is a disease that affects around 415 million people around the globe, and 30.3 million in the United States. Although quite common, no cure has been discovered for diabetes, and diabetics must worry about their glucose levels 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year for the rest of their lives. They have enough to deal with without worrying about the cost of insulin they need. 

Insulin injections are what keep most diabetics, especially those with Type One, alive. Type One is characterized by its formation through factors such as viruses or genetics, commonly appearing during childhood or adolescence. Type One is caused by the body’s immune system attacking insulin-forming cells in the pancreas, resulting in a lack of control over blood glucose levels. Synthetic insulin shots do the job that a functional pancreas should do, allowing the body to maintain homeostasis. Without these injections, Type One diabetics could end up in a coma, and without immediate emergency treatment, they won’t wake up. 

A large problem diabetics face in recent years isn’t worrying about their insulin injections; it’s worrying about their access to insulin. Price fixing, marketing schemes, political influence, and corporate greed have caused insulin prices to triple over the past 18 years. Some diabetics have resorted to rationing their insulin to stay alive. 

Junior Helen Federline has had Type One diabetes since she was 9 years old, and has experienced first-hand the steep and unfair prices of insulin. “My mom has to pay out of pocket before our copay kicks in… sometimes up to $2,000 per month.” A study found that diabetics in the U.S. pay a yearly average of $5,706 for insulin, more than double the yearly average of 2012, which was $2,864. Insulin is not like other medicines that people take to prevent disease or to alleviate pain- they take insulin so they can live. 

The problem here is obvious. Private companies are prioritizing profit over people’s well-being, and it is time that the government intervenes. Deprivatizing the distribution of insulin and creating a generic brand will allow the prices to remain affordable and stable. Both political parties have voiced their support for lowering insulin prices, but no concrete action has occurred and costs continue to rise. This issue has been put off for too long, and it is time that the federal government, either through the leadership of the president or Congress, puts an end to the corporate greed once and for all. With rising prices comes rising blood sugar, and change is not just wanted-it’s needed.