I am 31 years old and recently celebrated 30 years with type one diabetes. When I turned 26, my insulin went from costing $40 to $350. I couldn’t afford it and began rationing. When I married my husband, my copay went down to $70 per month and within a year I was told I was healthy enough to have a child if we wanted.
I have a daughter who came into this world without any complications, largely due to my access to insulin. During pregnancy, you need 1½ to 2 times more insulin than normal to keep the baby’s weight lower, keep the mother’s kidneys healthy, help prevent eye problems, and combat the higher rate of stillbirth and miscarriage. We are now expecting our second child, and the value of the insulin I’ve already gone through is roughly $6,670. With my insurance I’ve paid $140.
As I raise my children, I ask that our state lawmakers help make the world a little easier for them by supporting legislation to cap the price of insulin and increase the transparency and accessibility of all prescription drugs. This is particularly important with COVID-19, where if you have diabetes and get sick, especially if it isn’t well-controlled, you’re at a higher risk for complications. And in the chance that one of my children develops diabetes, I would like to be able to tell them, “You are going to live a life in spite of it.”
BRITTANY O’DONNELL
Chichester
(The writer is the New Hampshire chapter leader for T1International.)