New Scrutiny On The High Price Of A Life-Saving Drug For Diabetics … A disease that has an outsized impact in Hawaii is getting top-level attention in Washington.
WASHINGTON — The health condition is a blood sugar disorder known as diabetes, which affects an estimated 34 million Americans. In Hawaii, about 11% of the population is diabetic, slightly above the national average, and many more are deemed prediabetic.
Some groups are particularly affected, with about 14.2% of Native Hawaiians, 17.7% of Pacific Islanders and 22.1% of Samoans diagnosed with diabetes.
Insulin has become a textbook example of the crisis in prescription drug pricing in America. The drug, used to treat more severe cases of diabetes, was invented almost 100 years ago and has long been out of patent. But the price of insulin — administered in various forms — has skyrocketed as the three firms that now control about 95% of the insulin market systematically boosted prices at least tenfold during the past two decades, far outpacing inflation, according to a new congressional report on drug pricing.
