Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On Eli Lilly Capping Insulin Prices At $35 A Month Following Pressure From President Biden And Senate Democrats

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on Eli Lilly announcing it is capping insulin costs for patients at $35 a month after actions taken by Democrats in the Inflation Reduction Act capped costs for seniors on Medicare. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Yesterday’s news that Eli Lilly is capping insulin costs for patients at $35 a month is a very big deal that will make an enormous difference for the millions of Americans that rely on this drug to manage their diabetes.

I commend Eli Lilly for taking this much-needed step, but frankly, this should have happened a long time ago. There’s no excuse for monthly insulin costing $600, $700, $800 a month and people quaking in their boots about whether they can take half a dose, a quarter of a dose, no dose at all, and get even sicker. And so we’re happy to see that this company ends its terrible practice of keeping insulin prices high, and they deserve commendation. But it does bring up a few other points:

First: Eli Lilly’s announcement is good progress, but still not close to enough. There is no substitute for legislation that locks down a mandatory and permanent cap on insulin for all Americans, not just those who get insulin from certain companies.

Second: lowering insulin costs is a good policy that everyone on both sides should get behind. This should not be a Democratic issue or a Republican issue, it’s something that affects people in every city and every state.

And third: now is the time to finish the job and pass a bill to put a $35 cap on insulin for all Americans. Last year, we Democrats made good progress in the Inflation Reduction Act to lower insulin to $35 for seniors on Medicare. It is my hope to soon bring a bipartisan bill to lower prescription drug costs and cap insulin costs at $35 for everyone to the floor and pass it with support from both sides of the aisle. Let’s get this done. It’s so important for the American people. We Democrats are going to do all we can to get it done, hopefully in a bipartisan way.

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