Insulin Rationing Common, 'Surprising' Even Among Privately Insured
-
Insulin rationing due to cost in the United States is common even among people with diabetes who have private health insurance, new data show. The findings from the 2021 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) suggest that about one in six people with insulin-treated diabetes in the US practice insulin rationing — skipping doses, taking less insulin than needed, or delaying the purchase of insulin — due to the price. Not surprisingly, those without insurance had the highest rationing rate, at nearly a third. However, those with private insurance also had higher rates, at nearly one in five, than the overall diabetes population. And those with public insurance — Medicare and Medicaid — had lower rates
-
@kina-0 Insulin rationing is frequently harmful and sometimes deadly. In the ICU, I have cared for patients who have life-threatening complications of diabetes because they couldn't afford this life-saving drug. Universal access to insulin, without cost barriers, is urgently needed