OLYMPIA — Washingtonians with diabetes would pay no more than $35 a month for insulin under SB 5546, passed yesterday by the Senate.
“Insulin is a lifesaving medication,” said Sen. Karen Keiser (D-Des Moines), the sponsor of the legislation. “It was first used 100 years ago. There is no reason for the price of insulin to be so high today, but across the country, it has skyrocketed by 54% in recent years. We have a responsibility to keep vital prescriptions affordable.”
In 2020, the Legislature passed SB 6087, also sponsored by Keiser, which capped patients’ out-of-pocket cost for insulin at $100 per month. That cap is scheduled to expire Jan. 1, 2023. The new cap would take effect the same day and would expire on Jan. 1 the following year.
This temporary price cap gives time for the Total Cost of Insulin Work Group to come up with a more permanent solution.
SB 5546 now goes to the House of Representatives for consideration.
