Search for cheaper medication takes U.S. caravan to Canadian birthplace of insulin

I notice most U.S. sources don't mention the reason for the difference, although the BBC ( British) radio program I heard yesterday did, as does this Canadian one.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/search-for-cheaper-medication-takes-u-s-caravan-to-canadian-birthplace-of-insulin-1.4487151

Jeremiah Rodriguez
June 28, 2019

Skyrocketing U.S. insulin prices are driving a caravan of Americans with diabetes to the Canadian birthplace of the life-saving medication.

Organizer and diabetes advocate Quinn Nystrom said up to 45 people with Type 1 diabetes are expected to make the weekend trip to London, Ont., by bus or car from different U.S. cities.

“This is a crisis of epic proportions here in America. People are desperate and people are dying because they can’t afford insulin,” she told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview, before her 25-person group from Minneapolis, Minn. left Friday.

U.S. insulin prices have soared over the past two decades. An American Diabetes Association spokesperson told CTVNews.ca the average price of insulin has nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013.

When Nystrom was diagnosed 20 years ago, she said insulin was around US$16 per vial. Now, it costs her US$340 -- roughly 10 times the price in Canada.

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Amie Criego from East Lansing, Mich. has gone on stretches in the past without health insurance. During those times, she recalls asking friends for insulin because she couldn’t afford it.

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Canadian insulin prices can be approximately a tenth of those in the U.S. When Nystrom crossed the border the first time, she ended up paying US$300 for insulin, which would have cost US$3,300 stateside.

Fellow traveller Souther, who was diagnosed more than 45 years ago, uses three vials of insulin that each cost US$380 each month. In Canada, each vial is under US$40.

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“There’s a lot of people who can’t make it to Canada and they’re actually losing their lives … and having to ration their insulin.”

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UNLIKE U.S., CANADA’S SYSTEM REDUCES PRICE GOUGING

The reason for the discrepancy is because Canada regulates drug prices through the quasi-judicial Patented Medicine Prices Review Board designed to prevent gouging.

In the U.S., market forces are the lay of the land. But Nystrom said this needs to change for the sake of her and people affected by crippling drug prices.

While four states including Florida have passed legislation allowing for wholesale or individual imports of medications, advocates like Nystrom say it won’t be enough until there’s a plan for the entire country.

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