Insulin affordability and access discussions recur regularly, including earlier this year, resulting in the Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now (INSULIN) Act in the Senate. The act includes an insulin price cap, among other provisions that have received less analysis and discussion. In a new insight, Health Care Policy Analyst Jack Leimann explains why the legislation’s less covered provisions may have a greater impact on the commercial insulin market than the monthly price cap.

Key Points:

• The INSULIN Act, passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee with bipartisan support, would impose a $35 per month cap on out-of-pocket insulin prices for those on private insurance plans and not covered by other laws – such as the Inflation Reduction Act and nearly 30 separate state laws.
• The legislation also includes far less covered – but arguably more impactful, provisions – such as a pilot program to increase states’ access to insulin, increasing generic and biosimilar competition by reforming the citizen petitions process for new generic drug products, and expediting a review pathway for biosimilars.
• Though the bill is touted as a pricing and affordability measure, the provisions that incorporate population studies and patient outreach efforts may offer longer-term solutions to insulin market issues than the price cap.

Read the analysis.