Inside STAT: It’s the insulin, stupid: 2020 Democrats zero in on insulin costs

A GOLD-PAINTED INSULIN VIAL. (REBECCA F. MILLER FOR STAT)

In a rare point of consensus, the main health issue that many Democratic presidential candidates seem to agree on is insulin. Unlike other health topics, insulin has allowed candidates to tell a fairly simple story about corporate profiteering — that even after being around for a century, the cost of the drug has risen dramatically under three main manufacturers. The storytelling was evident when STAT’s Lev Facher heard Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D- Minn.) in Iowa over the weekend tell the widely publicized story of Alec Smith, who died in 2017 after rationing his insulin. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass.) has kept up with her attacks on insulin maker Eli Lilly, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has flooded the state with TV ads touting his “insulin caravans” to Canada for lower-cost medicines. And for advocates of lower insulin prices, the topic seems to have finally caught on in mainstream politics. Read more here.