SAINT PAUL – This evening, the Minnesota House approved the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act. After the Republican-led Senate refused to include emergency insulin legislation in the final hours of the 2019 Legislative Session, House DFLers continued their efforts to provide affordable and emergency insulin to Minnesota’s diabetics, holding a series of town halls in communities across the state and bipartisan informational hearings during the legislative interim. This is a renewed version of Alec’s bill, updated through the events of the interim, advocate input, and bipartisan negotiations.
“Minnesotans being forced to ration their insulin due to the high cost is evidence of a health care system that too often puts profits before patients,” said Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), chair of the House Health and Human Services Finance Division. “House DFLers are passing this legislation tonight because people with diabetes need a way to obtain an emergency supply of insulin before more lives are lost. The Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act will ensure access to insulin in an emergency and strengthens access to affordable insulin for Minnesotans over the longer-term.”
The Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act creates a statewide insulin assistance program to help Minnesotans who struggle to afford the insulin they desperately need. Compromises in the updated bill include state funding for the program’s set-up costs, but the House bill still maintains that the bulk of the costs be paid by insulin manufacturers. The top three insulin manufacturers control over 90 percent of the market and recorded $80 billion in revenue in the last 12 months.
A top priority for the House DFL, the Alec Smith Insulin Affordability Act made seven committee stops in seven days, becoming one of the first pieces of legislation to be passed by the full House this session.
The Senate’s companion bill, SF 3164, has yet to receive a hearing.