This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

AMA urges greater federal oversight of insulin prices

Delegates at this week’s AMA annual meeting supported a call to action that asks the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice to “monitor insulin pricing and market competition and take enforcement actions as appropriate,” according to a press release.

Healio has reported previously that the average price of insulin nearly tripled between2002 and 2013, and 24% of adults with diabetes earning below the poverty level use insulin.

“It is shocking and unconscionable that our patients struggle to secure a basic medicine like insulin,” William A. McDade, MD, PhD, an AMA board member, said in a press release. “The federal government needs to step in and help make sure patients aren’t being exploited with exorbitant costs."

The AMA also plans to educate physicians and policymakers on ways to tackle this problem, and transparency from manufacturers and [pharmacy benefit managers] is a good place to start, according to the release.

AMA stated it also intends to circulate model state legislation to promote increased drug price and cost transparency as well as ban standard gag clauses in contracts between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers that ban pharmacists from telling consumers about cheaper options for buying their medication. Some of these objectives are also part of the Trump administration’s plan for lowering drug prices. – by Janel Miller

Disclosure: Healio Family Medicine could not confirm McDade’s relevant financial disclosures at the time of publication.