OLYMPIA, Wash. — Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a new cap on out-of-pocket expenses for insulin. The legislation directs health care plans to limit one-month expenses for insulin to $35 beginning Jan. 1, 2023.
The bill follows similar legislation passed in 2020 which capped out-of-pocket expenses to $100 for a one-month supply of the life-saving medication. That previous cap expires with the beginning of the new, reduced maximum cost threshold for 30-day supplies of insulin.
Both efforts to make insulin more affordable for Washingtonians were sponsored by Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines. The recent legislation passed the Senate 48-1, and the House 85-10.
“Making insulin as affordable as possible is the right thing to do,” Gov. Inslee said Friday as he signed the bill. “We are grateful that the Legislature is taking this action which wouldn’t be necessary if drug manufacturers and prescription benefit manufacturers or managers put saving people’s lives at the top of their list.”