Spiraling cost of diabetes

Hello, my name is Danynn Affleck. I’m a 21-year-old Type 1 diabetic and have been since 5 years old.

I’m writing to you today to discuss the situation diabetics face every single day: the price of insulin … a medication we need to survive. While many may say, “Oh just buy cheaper insulin,” or, “Insulin is sold over the counter at your local Walmart,” we need to take into consideration that the insulin in conversation is actually a lesser version of the kind you can get from companies such as Novolog and Eli Lilly.

It’s not a choice of if we want to use it on a daily basis, but rather we must use it. I know the general public may feel as if they can’t do anything about it, especially since they don’t live day to day with the disease, but the more prevalent the disease becomes the more likely it is that at some point, everyone will know at least one Type 1 Diabetic; if not several.

It’s not just the cost of insulin that is involved in the daily life of a diabetic. It is the cost of needles, testing strips (at $1 a piece), and if the diabetic is using a pump you then need to factor in the cost of pump supplies. It is an immediate medical situation that should be addressed not sometime in the future but addressed now in hopes of seeing a better future.

Danynn Affleck

Richland, Wash.