Shaheen, Lead Insulin Legislation Negotiator, Hosts Discussion on Senate Progress to Lower Skyrocketing Drug Cost
**Senate Diabetes Caucus Co-Chair Senator Jeanne Shaheen is leading negotiations in the Senate with fellow Co-Chair Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) on new, bipartisan legislation to address the surging cost of insulin**
Senator Shaheen in Manchester today to discuss the urgent need to reduce the cost of insulin.
(Manchester, NH) – Earlier today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) participated in a roundtable discussion at Dartmouth Health Children’s in Manchester with stakeholders, advocates and individuals about the need to reduce the cost of insulin and her pending bipartisan legislation with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) toward that end. In April, Shaheen and Collins announced their policy priorities in their forthcoming legislation and invited lawmaker and stakeholder input as they finalize their bill.
In Manchester this morning, Shaheen was joined by representatives from Dartmouth Health, the American Diabetes Association, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), Protect Our Care, and Granite State families impacted by the surging cost of insulin prices.
“Insulin is a lifesaving medication for many of the millions of Americans living with diabetes. It should never be out of reach for any individual who needs it – full stop. Today’s discussion reaffirmed how critical it is that Congress take swift action to lower the surging cost of insulin, which is putting a crushing burden on families and forcing them to make decisions that no family should have to make – choosing between which bills to pay, or tragically, pressuring individuals to risk their lives by rationing their insulin,” said Shaheen. “I appreciated the opportunity to hear from our providers at Dartmouth and to listen to families directly impacted, like Amy Brady her daughter Lily, Lewis Cataldo and his daughter Elise, who represent those throughout New Hampshire and the nation facing the same challenges and live every day with the same fears about affording the cost of this medication. Senator Collins and I are hard at work to finalize our bipartisan legislation that addresses this urgent issue and I’ll be sharing the feedback I heard today with her as we prepare to move ahead on our bill. It is time for Congress to get this done.”
Shaheen and Collins are co-chairs of the Senate Diabetes Caucus and have long worked to increase awareness of the threats posed by diabetes, invest in research and improve access to treatment options. They have consistently held insulin manufacturers, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers accountable for the skyrocketing cost of life-saving insulin. Last year, Shaheen and Collins led a bipartisan group of Senators to reintroduce the Expanding Access to Diabetes Self-Management Training Act, which would expand Medicare coverage for diabetes self-management training (DSMT) sessions, where diabetes educators help train Medicare patients on how to manage their glucose, maintain a healthy weight, eat healthy foods, manage their insulin levels and improve general care for their diabetes.
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