Insulin Shortages and the High Costs of Survival

Antroinette used to be a mother of two children with Type 1 Diabetes, but today she has only one daughter. Her oldest died a few years ago at age 21 after she “aged out” of government assistance and began rationing her insulin. The price tag for people without insurance is as high as $351 per vial. “It was just too expensive for us to afford,” says Antroinette, noting also that the family lacked the educational tools needed to take care of themselves properly. “We didn’t know anything about diabetic ketoacidosis, rationing, or the importance of insulin to survive.”

Antroinette is now an advocate in the diabetes community and has established the non-profit T1Diabeties Journey, Inc. “I have another daughter who is a Type 1 diabetic and I don’t want the same thing to happen to her,” Antroinette says.

She and her daughter participated in a three-day documentary with Dateline International in Australia. They drove to Canada to compare the cost of insulin there to what it costs in the United States. “The price of insulin is about 10 times cheaper than in America even though it’s the same pharmaceutical companies selling to other countries,” she says. “It’s horrifying.”