Nation’s Top 3 Insulin Manufacturers Promise Price Cuts

On March 1, Eli Lilly announced cuts to insulin list prices and providing an automatic cap on “out-of-pocket costs at $35 at participating retail pharmacies for people with commercial insurance using Lilly insulin.”  These changes take effect at various points in 2023 for the few insulin products they manufacture (April 1, May 1, and Q4 2023).

A couple of weeks later, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi announced similar cuts to their insulin list prices effective January 1, 2024.

These three insulin manufacturers make about 90% of the U.S. supply of insulin.  These announcements follow the Inflation Reduction Act putting a Medicare cap on insulin of $35 per month and President Biden urging insulin manufacturers to apply similar pricing in the commercial insurance market.

This is primarily being paid for by drastically reducing insulin rebates these manufacturers must pay to Medicaid.

IMA will continue to monitor regulator guidance and offer meaningful, practical, timely information. This material should not be considered as a substitute for legal, tax and/or actuarial advice. Contact the appropriate professional counsel for such matters. These materials are not exhaustive and are subject to possible changes in applicable laws, rules, and regulations and their interpretations.