The Ohio Coalition of Primary Care Physicians decided at their last quarterly meeting to support House Bill 305, a bill that caps the cost sharing for prescription insulin drugs.
The Ohio Coalition of Primary Care Physicians represents a group of physicians who have a special interest in state policies that improve the health and welfare of adult and pediatric patients in Ohio. House Bill (HB) 305 is a priority bill for the coalition as diabetes affects patients in all of our respective specialties.
The letter, sent to Ohio House Health Committee Chair Scott Lipps, explains that the lack of access to medications like insulin can lead to severe consequences such as kidney disease requiring dialysis, blindness, foot amputations, heart attacks, strokes, and pregnancy complications. These conditions are burdensome and dangerous to our patients and costly to our state’s tax payers and insurers. The risk of complications from diabetes can be lessened significantly by keeping blood sugars controlled with regular use of medications for diabetes. Insulin is one of the most basic of these, and the cornerstone of treatment for many diabetics.
The letter goes onto to state, “The high cost of pharmaceuticals is increasingly gaining national attention. Meanwhile, the prevalence of diabetes has doubled in the past generation. Many of us have patients who sometimes have to choose between food and medications, or who miss days or weeks of their insulin due to cost. It is imperative that we do all that is possible to reduce cost-related deferral of care for diabetes.”
The letter concludes by asking Chair Lipps to hold hearings on this bill and work to advance it in the Ohio House.