Study: The cost of insulin in America has doubled for nearly two years in five years

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – The cost of insulin for the first type of diabetes in the United States has nearly doubled in five years until 2016, highlighting the general anger sparked by rising drug prices , according to a new analysis presented by Reuters.

According to a report released Tuesday by the Institute of Health Care Costs, a nonprofit organization, annual insulin costs for the treatment of type I diabetes averaged $ 5705. per patient in 2016. The average cost was about half that of USD 2864 per patient in 2012..

The amount represents the total amount paid by the patient and his health insurance for the drug and does not include the recovery rate that the patient receives from the insurance later.

The increase in the cost of insulin has caused some patients to risk their health.

In recent months, patients and their families have been talking about reducing the doses of life-saving medication because they can not afford it. This has also led to protests outside the headquarters of insulin-producing companies.

The cost of treatment has been attributed mainly to rising insulin prices in general and, to a lesser extent, to moving patients to use more expensive insulin. The report found that the average daily insulin intake had only increased by 3% over the same five-year period.