SAINT PAUL – Today, the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Division held a public hearing to discuss the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act and other solutions to address the skyrocketing cost of insulin and other prescription drugs. The price of insulin has tripled in the last decade, and studies indicate that 1 in 4 diabetics have resorted to rationing their insulin due to the high cost.
“Minnesotans need and deserve emergency access to insulin,” said House Speaker Melissa Hortman. “The House DFL passed the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act during the regular session, and we remain convinced that this is the best way to provide Minnesotans with emergency access -- at their pharmacies, and paid for by the pharmaceutical industry, not taxpayers. We will continue to work with Senate Republicans and the Governor to find a compromise that serves the needs of Minnesotans.”
The public hearing, chaired by Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester) followed five community conversations about the topic where lawmakers brought Minnesotans to the table to hear their experiences, input, and ideas.
“Our series of community conversations allowed us to directly engage with Minnesotans dealing with enormous costs of medications like insulin, and hear their ideas for how to solve this problem,” said Chair Liebling. “Today, we had the opportunity to bring these solutions back to the Capitol with the goal of ensuring all Minnesotans can access and afford the medications they need to live their lives. In addition to other ideas to stop price gouging and increase price transparency, the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act is one step we can take right now to ensure no one with diabetes has to put their health and wellbeing at risk due to an inability to afford their insulin.”
This past legislative session, Rep. Michael Howard (DFL – Richfield) introduced the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act to establish an emergency supply of insulin for diabetics who are unable to pay for prescription refills. The House approved the measure – named for a Richfield resident who tragically died after being forced to ration his insulin – as part of its Health and Human Services budget. However, the measure stalled in the Senate. Since the legislative session adjourned, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have been meeting to develop the framework of an emergency insulin access program.
“Minnesotans want us to come together to get this done, and we now have the opportunity to do so,” said Rep. Howard. “This shouldn’t be a right or left issue, because it’s a life or death issue. We were able to strengthen this bill thanks to the courageous testimony we heard from Minnesotans across the state, and while I’m optimistic about the work being done in the Senate, job number one needs to be providing a way for Minnesotans to access insulin in an emergency.”
The committee heard testimony from two Insulin4All advocates: Nicole Smith-Holt – Alec’s mother – and Cindy Scherer Boyd, whose son Jesimya Scherer-Radcliff died in July after rationing insulin.
“This bill is a true need for those in Minnesota with type 1 diabetes,” said Nicole Smith-Holt. “The outlook for diabetes is so much better than it was fifty years ago, but the financial restraints have set us back a hundred years to when this disease was a death sentence. We need to come together and pass Alec’s bill so that this emergency safety net is available to those who need it.”
Attorney General Keith Ellison updated the committee on his Advisory Task Force on Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices. Officials representing four Minnesota health plans – HealthPartners, UCare, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Medica – also provided testimony on their insulin co-pays for 2020.
Video of the hearing will be available courtesy of House Public Information Services.