Andrew Strohman, Health Care Data Analyst
As
Congress returns, a central issue of debate is drug pricing—particularly for
insulin. Primarily prescribed for those suffering from type 1 diabetes, insulin
injections are a life or death necessity for these individuals. Recent news articles
have highlighted the increasing cost of insulin and the resulting inability of
many patients to afford the quantities they need. Nevertheless, deaths from
Type 1 Diabetes have been declining in the United States and other developed
countries, even as the prevalence gradually increases. According to the Global Health Data Exchange, the death
rate from type 1 diabetes in the United States decreased from 5.4 to 3.7 per
100,000 people between 1990 and 2017, while the prevalence rate increased from
472 to 527 per 100,000. As the chart below shows, Canada, the United Kingdom,
and Denmark exhibit similar trends (dotted lines are death rates; solid
lines are prevalence). While these findings likely have complex
explanations, it may be prudent to further evaluate whether or not insulin’s
increasing price tag correlates with issues in domestic access.
Data obtained from the Global Health Data Exchange
https://www.americanactionforum.org/weekly-checkup/understanding-the-latest-insurance-coverage-numbers/#ixzz606XVoZ6p
Follow @AAF on Twitter
No comments:
Post a Comment