When Smith went to the pharmacy to pick up his insulin in early June, the bill was over $1300 without insurance. He couldn?t afford the medicine that day, and decided to ration his remaining insulin until he was paid. Smith did not tell his family that he was adjusting his carbohydrate intake so he could lower his dosage.
?He knew the signs of being in trouble with his diabetes,? Smith-Holt told the HPR. ?But when your body starts shutting down like that, you?re not making very clear, rational decisions.?
On June 25, Smith went to dinner with his girlfriend, where he complained about stomach pains. It was the last time anyone saw him alive. He called in sick to work the next day. On June 27, Smith was found dead in his apartment.
There are no generic insulins. Over the past twenty years, prices for the most commonly prescribed ?analog? insulins have risen from about $20 per vial to well over $250 per 10 mL vial, an over 700% increase after accounting for inflation. In contrast, insulin today costs roughly five dollars per vial to produce. With deductibles far outpacing wages, insulin has become unaffordable even for well-off Americans.
