Rising cost of insulin proving devastating for millions with diabetes

Guest: Irl Hirsch, MD, Professor, Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition, University of Washington Insulin is a life or death matter for millions Americans with diabetes. In recent years, the price of insulin at the pharmacy has risen so steeply that as many as one in four patients have started rationing their supply, based on a survey of several hundred patients at Yale’s Diabetes Center. Taking less insulin than the body needs – or skipping injections on occasion - can lead to serious health consequences, and even death in a patient with diabetes. Why has the cost of insulin risen so steeply?