With the growing number of people diagnosed with diabetes, the cost of the hormone insulin, one of the most important drugs for diabetes treatment, also increased nearly 200 percent between 2002 and 2013, a new study found.
Though many other drugs used in diabetes treatment increased in price, the spending on insulin, an injectable used to control blood sugar, was greater than the combined expenses on all other medications.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne in Australia and the University of Michigan used data from the federal Medical Expenditure Panel Survey that contains information on patients and insurers about care and costs. The study included nearly 28,000 patients with diabetes.
They found that the increase in the cost of insulin since was so significant that since 2010, a person that spends on insulin has been spending more than a person purchasing all other diabetes drugs combined.
The researchers described the findings of the study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. From 2002 to 2013, the average price of insulin increased from $4.34 to $12.92 per milliliter, or an increase of about 197 percent.
They also found that the annual spending on insulin per patient increased from $231.48 to a staggering $736.09 over the period of the study.
In contrast, the price of oral hypoglycemic agents or diabetes drugs known as DPP-4 inhibitors increased by only 34 percent from 2006 to 2013. The cost of metformin, however, was reduced by 93 percent between 2002 and 2013.
"What our study shows is how quickly things can change and why there is a need to focus on the costs as well as the benefits when deciding treatment options for people with diabetes," said senior study author Philip Clarke of the University of Melbourne.
Insulin Injectables Keep Diabetics Alive
For people suffering from type 1 diabetes, the use of insulin injectables keep them alive. In just a day, they need multiple dosages. For people suffering from severe cases of type 2 diabetes, physicians also prescribe these injectables to keep blood sugar levels at bay.
If these injectables are not given immediately and regularly, increased sugar levels in the blood could cause damage to the different vital organs including the heart. Insulin is also given to people whose blood sugar levels remain high even with diet, exercise and use of other medications.
"In the United States, the more than [threefold] increase in the cost of insulin over the past decade is alarming. It is a burden to both patients and payers and may deny some people access to a lifesaving therapy," said Dr. William Herman, co-researcher from the University of Michigan.
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