Fordham GSS MSW student Gabbi Cisneros recently spoke to the NY City Lens about the implementation and interpretation of the Affordable Insulin Now Act, a bill passed by The U.S. House that would cap copays for insulin at $35 a month.
The way the bill was written, advocates say, may allow insurance companies to skew the language and take advantage of those who need insulin to survive — specifically by charging those who need two types of insulin for each individual type, doubling the copay. And with insulin prices spiking by 4,500% over the past 25 years, these interpretations can come with big costs.
“I will not be able to afford to buy the amount of insulin that I need to survive,” said Cisneros, who is also an advocate for Insulin for All, a volunteer group advocating for transparent and lower insulin costs in New York. “I have my dreams and goals, but those might change because the most important thing is to find a job that gets me insurance because I need it. I won’t be able to afford everything without it.”
