SW Minnesota Today

Minnesota Senate Republicans recently advanced a bill that would provide a 30-day emergency supply of insulin at an affordable cost to Minnesota residents in need.

“We are keeping our promise – no one will slip through the cracks,” Sen. Scott Jensen said in a press release on March 12. “I am proud of this bill. We are not conforming to what manufacturers told us we need to do, but rather what needs to be done for Minnesotans. Today, we are passing a bill that will protect all diabetics and serve as a potential template in the future.”

Known as The Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Affordability Act, the bill is geared toward individuals with both urgent and ongoing insulin needs. It was named after a 26-year-old man who died in 2017 because he couldn’t afford to refill his insulin prescription.

“I never met Alec Smith, so I can't speak to the life he lived, but I can tell Alec Smith that in passing from this Earth, he’s had a far greater impact than he might ever have guessed,” Jensen said on the Senate floor. “So thank you to that family for the tragedy that they suffered and bore.”

The proposed program would feature affordable co-pays and an option for a 90-day supply. While a 10-day supply of insulin currently costs as much as $300, the 90-day supply would be available for an estimated co-pay of $25.

Under the bill, all pharmacies that dispense insulin must participate in the program or will face monthly penalties of $100,000.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and I am so very thankful for the efforts of Senators Jim Abeler, Michelle Benson, Eric Pratt, Rich Draheim, Julie Rosen, Carla Nelson, Mary Kiffmeyer, Andrew Mathews, Mark Koran, Melissa Wiklund, John Marty and Matt Klein,” Jensen said in the release.

According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes affects more than 466,000 people in Minnesota. Nationwide there are nearly 30 million diabetics.