New law caps out-of-pocket insulin costs

Posted on January 24, 2020
Illinois is now the second state in the nation to do this. (Photo courtesy: Dave Dahl)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Eighteen hundred dollars a month for a life-or-death drug is out of reach for many people. Megan Blair, the face of a statehouse bill restricting the cost of insulin, appeared at Friday’s bill-signing at a clinic in Springfield.

“I’ve had to ration my insulin, due to the fact that I cannot afford my 30-day supply that cost $1,800,” Blair, who lives near Decatur, said just before the governor signed the bill. “I have been in and out of the hospital, close to being in a diabetic coma, more than once due to not taking my medication like I should.”

The new law caps the out-of-pocket cost at $100 a month. Illinois is now the second state in the nation to do this.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]. 

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