The pharmaceutical industry has come a long way since the researchers who discovered insulin followed polio pioneer Dr. Jonas Salk’s lead and sold the patent for a dollar. Now. it’s estimated Big Pharma pulls in a profit on insulin 100 times the cost.
And if you cannot afford insulin, that’s a problem.
“Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness. It’s the leading cause of kidney failure that requires dialysis,” said Dr. Michael Jacoby of Springfield Memorial Hospital.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (pictured, far right) (D-Ill.) held a news conference at Memorial Learning Center Friday.
“It’s estimated that our health care system spends approximately $250 billion a year on the care of diabetes and its complications,” concluded the doctor
A Springfield area woman was on hand to say the struggle is real.
“I’ve had to pass up wonderful job opportunities because there was no health insurance,” said Tammy Mitchell (pictured, standing). “I’ve had to move to jobs that I didn’t like just because they had health insurance.”
Durbin’s backing a proposal that would limit the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 a month.