[rayiner]

Reflecting a common theme in our healthcare system, the problem of insulin costs is very unevenly distributed: https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/out-of-pocket-spen....

About 3 in 4 enrollees in ACA plans that use insulin pay $35/month or less out of pocket. For people with private insurance, 4 in 5 pay $35/month or less.

The biggest problem seems to be too many plans, too many choices, and too many ways to fall through the cracks.

[aqme28]

Is the $35 the amount the patient pays, or is it the total amount paid for the insulin?

It's still a despicable racket if the patient only pays $35, but the insurance company is paying $500.

[jjk166]

Yeah, it's important to note that all the money the insurance company pays for medicine is still coming from you and other policy holders, it's just in the form of a predictable monthly policy plan instead of a possibly very large unexpected bill. If the drugs were cheaper, you could get a cheaper insurance plan that offered the same quality of coverage. So extremely high insulin prices hurt you even if you personally don't take insulin.

[dmreedy]

I think a part of the trick here too is that this report does not appear to discriminate between Type 1 (where insulin is required, and the amount required varies significantly and often increases with age) and Type 2 (where insulin, if it is required at all, is often required less).

Folks in the Type 1 boat are in a much rougher place without insurance than the far larger, and growing, population of Type 2s. And I imagine, skew any reporting that does not make the discrimination between the two.

(This all intended as a supplement to your very good point)

[legitster]

Also, no one is paying sticker price. When I was uninsured I often payed less out of pocket costs for care and medicine because so many automatic discounts kicked in.