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Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly said Tuesday that it will limit the out-of-pocket cost of insulin to $35 per month to offset financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic. The co-pay cap will cover the majority of the company’s insulin, including the Humalog injection, and is open to the uninsured as well as commercially insured people, but not to Medicaid, Medicare or Medicare Part D patients, Reuters reported. (Budryk, 4/7)

The move, which will also reset copay cards to the same monthly $35 level, comes amid ongoing angst over the cost of the diabetes treatment. Insulin, in fact, has been something of a poster child for the national debate over prescription drugs costs. Long before the pandemic caused financial hardship for millions of Americans, a growing number of people with diabetes were rationing the medicine, taking trips to Canada to purchase lower-cost insulin, and protesting outside offices of the largest insulin manufacturers. (Silverman, 4/7)

“Enabling a $35-per-month insulin co-pay regardless of employment status will help many Americans in this difficult time,” said CEOs Aaron Kowalski and Thom Scher of non-profit organization JDRF-Beyond Type 1 Alliance. However, patients with government insurance such as Medicaid, Medicare, Medicare Part D or any State Patient or Pharmaceutical Assistance Program are not eligible for the scheme, Lilly said. (4/7)

Representatives at the Solution Center can also direct people to affordability options that may reduce their out-of-pocket costs further – such as free insulin for people with minimal income, or no income at all, that has been donated by Lilly to non-profit organizations. “Too many people in the U.S. have lost their jobs because of the COVID-19 crisis, and we want to make sure no one goes without their Lilly insulin,” said Mike Mason, president, Lilly Diabetes. “We’ve been providing affordability solutions for a long time, but more is needed to help people during this unprecedented period. People with commercial insurance, as well as those without insurance at all, are eligible, and the process is quick and simple. We want people who need help to call us.” (4/7)