Why I Worry About People I Don't Know

Over the last few years, I've gotten to know quite a few people that have T1D or are the parent of a child with T1D that don't have health insurance or don't have the money to pay for their insulin and medical needs. I've listened to parents sob and worry about how they will afford to pay for their child's insulin to keep them alive, I've talked to young adults choosing between their next grocery bill or their insulin for that day, and parents who can afford their child's insulin today but are worried about their child's future career to ensure they have health insurance coverage.

The reality is that without insulin my son, and others with T1D will die. And yet, the cost of this insulin is thousands of dollars a month depending on how much you need and your health insurance coverage. This is an international issue of access and affordability, and an issue right here in our own neighborhoods.

• 50% of people around the world in need of insulin cannot reliably access it because it is unavailable, unaffordable, or both (from T1D International Advocacy Kit Facts and Statistics)
• Discontinuation of insulin use was the leading cause of diabetic ketoacidosis in 68% of people in a USA inner city, which can cause coma or death (from T1D International Advocacy Kit Facts and Statistics)

And with no competition in the insulin marketplace, a medication that shouldn't cost more than $50-130 per year, is costing upwards of $1,000-2,000 per month. Stories of the costs skyrocketing because of price-fixing, politics, and a marketplace devoid of competition make you wonder when the regulators will step in and put an end to it. People are dying because they can't access (or afford) their insulin, something has to change.