Sticker shock: The price of insulin is skyrocketing. [View all]

At the beginning of 2013 the price of Lantus insulin was about $135 for a vial and about $180 for Solostar pens. I went into an indigent program so I had not monitored the price increases for about 18 months. When I recently checked on filling my insulin prescriptions the prices had gone up to about $250 for a vial and about $360 for Solostar pens.

I've also encountered similar price increases for the fast-acting insulin Novolog where the prices have nearly doubled within the past 18 months. Is anybody else encountering this phenomenon?

What really concerned me though is that I spoke to another diabetic when I went to sign up for the indigent program where I now live. She indicated that she normally takes a 40 unit injection of Lantus each night and that the indigent program is trying to cut back on the amount of insulin that they are willing to provide to her and that they would only authorize payment for insulin that would provide only 30 unit injections. Although the woman would benefit by losing some weight, she certainly would not be considered to be morbidly obese.

While I know that using insulin makes people hungrier, it seems inappropriate that an indigent program would be second-guessing the prescription requirements set by a medical doctor. I feel fortunate because my weight is about 30-35 pounds less than what it should be for someone of my height, but this is the first time that I've heard of an indigent program intervening in the medical care of an individual in this manner. Does anyone else have some experience with this issue?

Here is one article that I found: http://insulinnation.com/treatment2/medicine-drugs/understanding-insulin-sticker-shock/