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The Pro Bowl Patriots linebacker, Dont & # 39; a Hightower, is hosting its fourth annual football monitoring evening, Monday Night, to raise funds for diabetes tonight at Patriot Place, an event that takes place at a time when more and more spike in the cost of insulin.
Hightower has become the national ambassador of the American Diabetes Association since his mother, The Tanya, was diagnosed with the disease four years ago.
"It has turned their world upside down, and since then it has been committed to raising money and raising awareness," said Julia Lauria, Hightower's marketing director, SportsTrust Advisors.
Hightower has raised more than $ 200,000 for diabetes since it began, Lauria told The Herald yesterday. According to a recent report by Kaiser Health News, his efforts come at a time when the rising cost of insulin has caused many diabetics to ration their drug supply.
The price of insulin in the United States has more than doubled since 2012, according to the report, which has led many diabetics to seek affordable solutions.
Nicole Smith-Holt, of Richfield, Minnesota, lost her son Alec Smith as a result of diabetes-related complications three days before being paid. Her insulin supply was empty.
"It should not have happened," Smith-Holt told Kaiser Health News. "This cause of death from diabetic ketoacidosis should never have occurred."
In Smith's case, her mother said that she started reviewing her options in February 2017 and that her pharmacist told her that the diabetes supplies would cost her $ 1,300 per month without insurance. Smith decided not to have insurance after discovering that his annual deductible would be $ 7,600. He died a month after leaving his mother's insurance, according to the report.
A petition submitted by the ADA for more affordable insulin collected 363,416 signatures.
A federal lawsuit filed in Massachusetts in 2017 and transferred to New Jersey accuses drug maker Sanofi, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk of conspiring to increase insulin prices at the expense of patients.
In 2016, Hightower, along with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) went to Capitol Hill on behalf of ADA to urge Congress to increase funding for research Glucose monitors, as do many insurance companies.
Hightower has also joined ADA's Team Tackle initiative.
"By joining the American Diabetes Association and joining Team Tackle, we really appreciate it," said Hightower via Patriots.com in 2017. "I am personally aware of the plight of women with diabetes and people with diabetes. general. … it's something small to give them back. "
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