Washington state lawmaker introduces bill to cap insulin costs

New legislation slated to be proposed in the Washington state Senate would cap the price of insulin at $100 per 30-day supply, Seattle Weekly reports.

If passed, the group of bills, which were brought forward by state Sen. Karen Keiser, would allow Washington to conduct mass buyouts of insulin, control insulin costs, import prescription drugs for state employees and create both a pharmacy benefit board and a pharmacy tourism board, according to the paper.

Other states have already passed similar laws. In May, Colorado capped insulin prices at $100 per month and Illinois lawmakers passed a similar cap in November.

“Drug prices are out of control, and they are hurting patients and citizens who can’t afford the cost,” Keiser told the paper.

“The only people it’s good for are the drug manufacturers and the industry.”

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed the price of insulin per millimeter skyrocketed from $4.34 in 2002 to $12.92 in 2013.

The law would go into effect at the beginning of 2021.