Kansas Attorney General, Derek Schmidt says leading insulin providers and pharmacy benefit managers have deliberately inflated insulin prices over the past two decades. Schmidt filed suit against Eli Lilly, Sanofi-Aventis, and Nov Nordisk. Those three companies command 99% of the insulin market. He accuses the companies of maintaining a pricing scheme to purposely make insulin more expensive to produce. Insulin takes $5.00 to produce and he cited an increase from its original $20 price to its current price tag between $300 – $700. It’s an increase Schmidt says is forcing Kansans with diabetes to choose between rationing their insulin or going without it.
Schmidt says Kansans with diabetes who are either uninsured or are in high deductible plans have been substantially damaged as a direct result of the scheme and the consequences can be fatal. Schmidt’s office says this is the second lawsuit from an investigation started in 2020, another was settled last year with Centene Corp. for $27 million.
