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The monthly price for some insulin sold to uninsured New Yorkers will be capped at $35 for the next five years, under new agreements between the state and two of the nation’s largest manufacturers of that drug.
New York Attorney General Tish James said Tuesday that the agreements with Eli Lilly and Sanofi-Aventis US will ensure insulin is “affordable and accessible for all New Yorkers regardless of their income or insurance status.” About 464,000 New Yorkers rely on insulin each day.
The New York attorney general’s office found in a recent investigation that the list prices drugmakers set for insulin “resulted in significant out-of-pocket costs for certain insulin users, causing some to ration their insulin or forgo it altogether.”
Both Lilly and Sanofi moved to cut or cap the price of insulin earlier this year amid growing public and legal scrutiny.
Lilly executives said in March that the company would cut the list price of its most commonly prescribed insulins and expand its Insulin Value Program, which caps patient out-of-pocket monthly costs at $35. Shortly after, Sanofi executives announced a 78% reduction in the list price for its most popular insulin and a $35 cap on out-of-pocket costs for patients with commercial insurance effective Jan. 1, 2024. Sanofi previously capped out-of-pocket insulin costs for uninsured US patients at $35 in 2022.
The details: Under the agreements with New York state, both companies will offer free insulin to low-income patients, James’s office said. Lilly and Sanofi further agreed to streamline pharmacy processes to automatically ensure patients paying with cash know that they can fill their monthly prescription for $35.
Lilly, meanwhile, committed to work with relief agencies to provide free insulin to nonprofit clinics in high-need areas in New York, the attorney general’s office said.
Lilly spokesperson Daphne Dorsey said in a statement that the agreement “reinforces [the company’s] commitment to ensure that New Yorkers with diabetes have affordable access to Lilly’s insulins.”
“The agreement builds on our longstanding and industry leading efforts to close gaps in the US healthcare system and expand access to affordable insulin, including our recent landmark announcement cutting insulin prices by 70% and capping monthly out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less,” she said.
And Sanofi agreed to offer free insulin to consumers with incomes tied to federal poverty line thresholds, according to James’s office.
Olivier Bogillot, the head of US General Medicines at Sanofi, said the company “believes that no one should struggle to pay for their insulin, regardless of their insurance status or income level.”
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General’s Office to promote increased awareness of our savings programs,” he said in a statement.