The information below was a press release sent out by the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the Endocrine Society. I don’t typically share press releases, but insulin affordability is a big concern and all the information about it must be shared everywhere!
AACE and Endocrine Society Partner to Address Insulin Affordability and Access
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the Endocrine Society have teamed up to address the high cost of insulin and the associated burdens placed on the millions of Americans who rely on costly daily insulin injections.
Together AACE and the Endocrine Society introduced a resolution this week at the 2017 Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates that called on the AMA to pursue several initiatives aimed at improving insulin affordability for patients with diabetes. The resolution called on the AMA to convene a summit to identify potential solutions to the dramatic increase in insulin costs and also advocate for initiatives to reduce patient cost-sharing for insulins, stabilize drug formularies throughout a plan year to reduce non-medical switching of insulin products; facilitate greater transparency of insulin pricing and integrate drug formularies into electronic health records.
Overwhelming support for addressing insulin costs and their impact on patients expressed on the floor of the House of Delegates led to a unanimous vote for the AMA to study these issues and provide a report with findings and recommendations to the House of Delegates at the 2018 Annual Meeting in June.
“We are concerned rising insulin prices have created a barrier hindering people with diabetes who are insulin-dependent from obtaining the treatments they need,” said the Endocrine Society’s President-Elect Susan J. Mandel, MD, MPH. “The approved initiatives will engage stakeholders to work together to improve access to lifesaving therapies.”
“This is an important and encouraging step toward addressing the issues affecting insulin costs and the challenges that our patients face in accessing this medication,” said AACE President Jonathan D. Leffert. “AACE is pleased to partner with our friends at the Endocrine Society to help address this issue that is so critical to all of our patients.”
###
About the Endocrine Society
Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.
The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.
About the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE)
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) represents more than 7,000 endocrinologists in the United States and abroad. AACE is the largest association of clinical endocrinologists in the world. The majority of AACE members are certified in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and concentrate on the treatment of patients with endocrine and metabolic disorders including diabetes, thyroid disorders, osteoporosis, growth hormone deficiency, cholesterol disorders, hypertension and obesity. Visit our site at www.aace.com, or follow us on social media: https://www.facebook.com/TheAACE/, https://twitter.com/TheAACE.
I am not amazed that they made such a statement, I do question the impact. Its the real players, PBM’s and the Industry that need to sit down and sort it out.
Rick – thanks for the comment. I am not amazed by it either and I don’t think it’s much of a press release worthy announcement. However, the more attention and noise brought about the topic, the better.