Americans Traveling To Canada For Insulin

American drug companies are charging life-threatening prices for drugs like insulin, needed by 7.5 million Americans who suffer from diabetes. From 2012 to 2016, the average cost of insulin in the U.S. almost doubled, from $2,864 to $5,705, according to the Health Care Cost Institute.

That reality has forced many insulin users to travel to Canada to buy their insulin at a fraction of the U.S. cost, as little as one-tenth and without a prescription. Major U.S. pharmaceutical companies have not yet felt enough pressure to reduce insulin and other life-saving drug costs, passing the problem off to health insurance companies under a system of rebates and discounts which rarely reach the patients. The Canadians have figured out an obvious way to keep prices affordable:

"Barry Power, director of therapeutic content with the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said the group is tracking both U.S. drug-buying proposals and reports of cross-border trade closely but has yet to see a disruption to Canadian insulin supplies.

He said insulin prices in Canada are controlled through policy, including price caps and negotiations with manufacturers.

'This is something the U.S. could do,' he said." (emphasis added)

It could be done if big pharma weren't utterly opposed not only to lowering prices, but to the importation of lower cost pharmaceuticals from countries like Canada. They have a powerful ally in their fight: Congressional Rethuglicans who pocket campaign contributions from them, and will do their bidding despite the suffering of their constituents.