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Please see the attached file for instructions. Please read all the instructions carefully, Attached file has all the book and video information you have to check it out before you start writing this discussion post down bellow.
Discussion: Insulin Prices Skyrocketing in the U.S.
Insulin is an essential drug for Type 1 diabetics. The demand for insulin to treat Type 1 diabetes is usually viewed as highly inelastic. However, the insulin price has increased so dramatically over the last decade. A recent study by the Health Care Cost Institution (HCCI) shows insulin costs per patient with Type 1 diabetes have almost doubled from 2012 to 2016.Why does insulin cost so much to patients in the USA? Why is insulin, a widely sold drug, so incredibly expensive? Does understanding the relationship between the price elasticity of demand for insulin and its total expenditure help you understand what's behind the rising price of insulin and how diabetics struggle to afford life-saving medicine?
Share your thoughts.
| Subject | Nursing | Pages | 2 | Style | APA |
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Answer
Insulin Prices Skyrocketing in the U.S
The price of insulin in U.S skyrocketed in the last four years from $ 2,864 in 2012 to $5,705 in 2016. Without insulin a Type 1 diabetic patient can die from acid build up which is called diabetic ketoacidosis. The main producers of insulin in the U.S are Lily, Sanofi and Novo Nordisk. The producers have been accused of fixing prices(Skyrocketing cost,2019). People require constant doses of insulin to manage sugar levels otherwise they die. Demand for insulin in the US is therefore inelastic because demand has not fallen and cannot fall despite the rapid increase in price of insulin. This implies that a percentage change in the price of insulin does not lead to a proportionate change in the demand in the United States of America (Price of insulin , 2019).
The reason why price of insulin has skyrocketed is because patients have no alternative to insulin. If they are unable to get insulin their body wastes away and they die. The three insulin producers blame high deductible insurance plans and payments made to pharmacy middle men to be out of pocket costs borne by patients which keeps prices high. These company’s offer coupons and discounts but many patients do not qualify (Skyrocketing cost,2019). Additionally, the proportion of patient’s income spent on acquiring insulin has rose considerably. This also contributes to the inelasticity of demand of insulin in US. The next reason is that there is no cure for Type 1 diabetes and patients must spend about $600 a month for insulin. Some patients have been travelling to Canada to get the drug which is about 90% cheaper. All these factors make it expensive (Skyrocketing cost,2019).
References
Skyrocketing cost of insulin pushes Americans to buy drug in Canada video, Jul 5, 2019 retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=JAHXm8pneUg&feature=emb_logo Price of insulin is on the rise video , Apr 30, 2019 retieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=CBLJJ2tlUCs&feature=emb_logo
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