Estimated 1.3 Million Americans Forced to Ration Diabetes Medication Amid Soaring Inflation: Study

An insulin kit is shown in an undated file photo. Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images

More than a million American adults with diabetes may have had to skip or ration doses of insulin in the past year as the cost of the life-saving medication soared under the Biden administration, according to a new study.

The study, titled “Prevalence and Correlates of Patient Rationing of Insulin in the United States: A National Survey,” was published on Oct. 18 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

It was led by researchers at Harvard Medical School, City University of New York’s Hunter College, and the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen.

Researchers analyzed data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2021 National Health Interview Survey, which included 982 people with diabetes who use insulin.

Questions in the survey included whether adult insulin users had skipped doses in the past year, taken less insulin than they required, or delayed taking the insulin in an effort to save money. If respondents answered yes to any of those three questions, researchers considered them to be rationing doses.

The responses of those adults were used to serve as a representative sample of more than 6 million American adults with diabetes. Based on this, researchers found that 16.5 percent, or up to 1.3 million insulin users, rationed the medication.

Additionally, researchers found that delaying the purchase of insulin was the most common form of rationing among respondents, while among individuals with Type 1 diabetes, taking less insulin than needed was the most common response.

Furthermore, researchers found that younger adults (20.4 percent) were more likely to ration the much-needed medication compared to seniors over 65 years of age (11.2 percent).

President Joe Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act as Democrat lawmakers look on at the White House in Washington, on Aug. 16, 2022. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Doctor Says Urgent Policy Change Needed

Rates of insulin rationing were also highest among individuals without health insurance, according to the study, and lowest among those insured through Medicaid.

Researchers noted that participants in the survey who rationed insulin said they felt overwhelmed by the demands of living with diabetes.

“We need urgently policy change to ensure that everyone has access to this critical medication without cost barriers,” Dr. Adam Gaffney, the lead author of the study and a pulmonologist and critical care doctor at Harvard Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance, told CNN. “And we need to do that today.”

The results of the study come as President Joe Biden continues to argue that inflation will worsen if Republicans win control of Congress in the midterm elections in November.

In September, Biden lauded a decline in costs for tens of millions of Americans covered by the Medicare health program, although the reduction in prices was largely due to a decision to severely limit coverage of an expensive new Alzheimer’s drug marketed as Aduhelm.

Biden has also touted his Inflation Reduction Act, which will cap the monthly cost of insulin at $35 for seniors who have Medicare, beginning Jan. 1, 2023. However, the cap will not apply to the millions of Americans who are uninsured or have private health insurance.

A total of 37.3 million people (11.3 percent of the U.S. population) have diabetes, according to the latest data from the CDC.