insulin

The lawsuit alleges insulin can cost Eli Lilly just a few dollars to produce, while some consumers are charged hundreds of dollars.

A new lawsuit alleges six companies conspired to raise insulin prices by 1,000 percent in the last decade. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is suing pharmacy benefits managers and pharmaceutical companies that he says are dishonest and harm patients.

Eli Lilly will cut prices for some older insulins later this year and immediately expand a cap on costs insured patients pay to fill prescriptions.

The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly and Company, announced Wednesday it will lower the prices of its branded insulin by 70 percent and will introduce more price caps for its non-branded insulin.

T1International, an advocacy group for type 1 diabetics, is calling on pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly to lower their insulin prices. The group has been pushing these efforts in Indianapolis for several years.

A recently approved economic package will lower out-of-pocket costs for some patients. Many who rely on the costly medication say the measure doesn't go far enough.

The new price -- starting Jan. 1 -- will be about $80 per vial and comparable to how much a vial of Lilly's brand name Humalog insulin cost in 2008.

Starting Jan. 1, Lilly will drop the cost of its Insulin Lispro Injection -- the generic of its insulin Humalog -- by 40 percent, saving about $50 per vial.

In Indiana, hundreds of thousands of people lack easy access to grocery stores. Many more can't afford to buy healthy food, and that's a problem for anyone with diabetes.

The pandemic has left millions of Americans without jobs -- and health insurance. And for the one in 10 Americans with diabetes, this poses a life-threatening problem. Now, many are scrambling to pay for their insulin.