Yesterday, the CEOs of the 3 largest sellers of insulin in the U.S. and worldwide were hauled in front of a Senate committee to answer tough questions about why insulin prices have skyrocketed beyond the means of so many who need it.
Sen. Bernie Sanders directly pushed the CEOs to commit to “never increase the price of any insulin drug again.” Turns out, pressure can create action, and the CEO of Eli Lilly (though not the other two Pharma giants) agreed.
Last year, President Biden signed a law capping the price of insulin at $35 for Medicare recipients. 12 House Republicans joined Democrats to make it happen—but Ken Buck voted No.
Buck is supposedly an active member of the Diabetes Caucus in Congress. So you might think he would support a cap on out-of-pocket costs for people who need insulin to survive. But Buck doesn’t work to make people’s lives better; he’s there simply to look out for himself and his own ambitions.
In an emotional letter to the editor of the Greeley Tribune, one Colorado voter expressed disbelief and disgust that her Congressman stood on the wrong side of the vote to cap insulin prices: “Ken Buck owes the people of his congressional district an honest answer as to why he rejected an important piece of healthcare. It is unreasonable and unconscionable.”
We need a cap on insulin prices, but how can we ever get it done when self-proclaimed populists and “advocates for diabetics” like Ken Buck say one thing and then vote the other way?
Ike McCorkle is a Purple Heart recipient, Marine Force Recon veteran, and Democratic candidate for Congress running against Ken Buck. Paid for by McCorkle for Colorado.
