Recently I did a paper on Insulin Affordability and I had the option to format as a blog post, so I thought I would share it.

If you are not familiar with insulin and what it does for the body, insulin is a drug that is used to monitor and regulate a person’s blood glucose levels. If a person’s body is not able to produce enough insulin, which is a symptom of diabetes, then they use an insulin syringe, pen, or pump to administer the needed insulin to avoid ketosis or in the worst-case death. However, despite the life-saving qualities and the necessity of having access to this drug, the prices are unreasonable and frankly outrageous. Insulin, over the years, has rapidly become such a huge financial burden that families and individuals have rationed or obtained the medication illegally by crossing borders. “30% of people with diabetes ration insulin or every 1 in 4” (Snouffer). However, insulin affordability and a change in pricing cannot happen overnight, first we need to begin to have the conversations that question the morality of silence versus action. The minute you decided to become a politician, you took an oath to protect the people of the United States. So, staying silent can only do more harm than good when it comes to a life-or-death situation, like rationing insulin to the point of death This puts their lives endanger, by not speaking out against insulin prices you’re actively sidelining that oath.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Alec Smith, a 23-year-old restaurant manager, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. By 26, he was no longer eligible as a dependent on his mother’s health insurance. His insurance, at least what was available to him, had a $7600 deductible and a monthly premium of approximately $440. He couldn’t afford the plan, nor could he afford paying for insulin out of pocket. So, he began to ration his insulin. Shortly after, he began to ration his insulin, he was found dead in his apartment of diabetic ketoacidosis (Rajikumar).

If more people like you, answered the peoples cry to fight these prices, if you spoke out against insulin prices, so many people like Alec Smith deaths could have been prevented. As a sister of a type one diabetic, stories like this make me angry and sad. A man whose life was just getting started ended to soon because of a technicality. His death could have been prevented, with the help from you.  I can only imagine the pain and suffering a family feels after they lose a loved one but imagine losing a loved one because you couldn’t help them, and it was out of your hands. Feeling helpless is not the best feeling and makes you feel worthless and powerless. So, putting yourself in their shoes, wouldn’t you want to do anything possible to help them and to prevent the deaths.

Politicians are people for me are who you turn to when things are out of your control and need very powerful people with powerful voices to help you. Politics is also about whether or not to support a cause or campaign, background information on said cause or campaign, how much money they stand to lose or make, how this will affect their political status, and who stands to benefit from their support. Naturally you would not actively support a cause, bill, or movement, which wouldn’t boost your political ego or look good on your agenda. I mean after all without power you would not have a voice and then it would all mean nothing. Like I mentioned earlier, you also have a responsibility to protect the people so wouldn’t you want to protect the people you love. I know I sure would. Which makes me happy to say that the peoples cry to rally and fight the high prices of insulin has become so loud that it has caught the attention of political people in positions of power. While some have answered the call of the people, others have turned a blind eye. “Seventy-two senators and 302 members of the House of Representatives cashed a check from the pharmaceutical industry ahead of the 2020 election — representing more than two-thirds of Congress” (Facher). They have turned a blind because of the money. Sure, money is nice to have, but isn’t it more about the people who support you and help you achieve success.

In the state of Iowa, Alec Smith’s story is well known, because they know the story all too well. They too have lost people to insulin rationing. So naturally, advocacy for the betterment of Americas health care is something that Iowa values. So much so that insulin advocacy specifically has become a catch-all for politicians to earn their support and people like them who share the same experiences.  During the 2020 primary elections, Bernie Sanders spent 5.5 million on televisions advertisements just in Iowa, to show his support of lowering insulin prices. That same year in the primary election, Sanders won the state of Iowa. This goes to show that by supporting the causes and answering their cry to fight, the people you are trying to gain as supporters will show up when it matters most. Another example, Elizabeth Warren publicly criticized Eli Lilly, a producer of insulin, after she heard the story of Alec Smith. She was so infuriated, that she vowed that she would create a policy, where the government would create a more affordable insulin, to help prevent more unnecessary deaths (Facher).

If by showing you two successful politicians who have supported insulin affordability and only have stood to gain something from it money aside has not worked, then let me at least tell you why as a human being it should be immoral to not speak out against the continuous sky-rocketing insulin prices. If Alec Smith’s tragic death has not motivated you to care solely through empathy and the basis of being a decent human being. Let me give you my testimony and the reason I care about lowering Insulin prices. I have experienced firsthand what insulin rationing does to a person and how it affects those around them. Both my little brother and cousin are type one diabetics who depend on insulin. While my little brother has been very fortunate to not experience insulin insecurity, my cousin has not been so lucky. Summer 2019, my cousin went into ketoacidosis and nearly died because she rationed her insulin, not because she had to but because she knew how big of a financial burden it put on her single mother. I remember when I found out about my cousin’s hospital visit and the reason behind, I was so angry at her. I was mad because she knew the consequences and how dangerous not taking her insulin was, but after I learned that my cousin was more worried about the toll it took on her mother than her own health, I wasn’t angry with her but with myself. I was angry that a 15-year-old girl would even be worried about these things, instead of going to the movies with her friends or getting her permit. More importantly I was upset that more people like you who have the power to make a difference weren’t doing just that. I thought it was because you didn’t care about insulin affordability, but I was wrong it was not because you didn’t care, it was because you weren’t aware. After a while instead of being angry at the situation, I started to ask myself why I was not advocating for them and people like my cousin and brother or searching for a way to make people aware. I found that my voice alone could only reach so many, but together with people who care and politicians who have a voice and aren’t scared to use it for good is what I needed. My older family members and I when we decided to vote this year, we looked for those who cared about insulin affordability and were speaking out against the prices. So, by speaking out against insulin prices, not only would you gain my families money and support but also the support and money of those who care about my family and those we have befriended in the diabetic community. Hopefully, I have done my job by now to show why you should care about insulin affordability. If I have then that’s great, but if not then let me leave you with one more thing. While there may not be a lot of money for you to earn by speaking out against insulin prices.

There is support and with support comes power and just like spiderman uncle said, with great power comes responsibility. The responsibility to make a difference and the power to make a difference in someone’s life or even to save a life. The need for lower insulin prices is so immense that you stand to gain more support than criticism. In fact, “roughly 8.3 million people require insulin to regulate blood glucose levels, and it is estimated that worldwide insulin use will increase 20 percent by the year 2030” (Barnhorst). Also, since insulin is viewed as a lifesaving drug, only those who stand to benefit from insulin prices staying so high would be against people with powerful voices changing the narrative. They don’t want families and those who suffer from the consequences of insulin prices to make them out to be the villain, instead they want you to stay silent and become the villain. They want the families of those who have died or now have a diminished quality of life, because they didn’t have access to the drug that they needed to avoid these situations. In my opinion, there is no better feeling when you help someone you need and give them a voice and help them feel a little less helpless. 

Afterall, there is nothing better than when you are able to see all your hard work and devotion pay off. So, join the fight against insulin prices, speak up and be someone’s hero. At the end of the day, whether you decide to stay silent or speak out, it could be making a huge impact on someone’s life and even end up saving one.