Changing Insulin Costs: 4 Things to Know

Understand your options for keeping insulin affordable.

Insulin costs are a hot topic — in the news, on the radio, at your doctor’s office. With new developments happening regularly, be sure you’re getting updates from a trusted source.

Here, we’ve broken down four key things to know about recent cost changes affecting your insulin prescriptions:

1. Insulin costs under Medicare

If you’re on Medicare, you won’t pay more than $35 per month for insulin. In 2022, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. Part of this legislation included caps on the price of insulin for Medicare beneficiaries.

Effective Jan. 1, 2023, Medicare Part D prescription drug plans cap the cost of any covered insulin products at $35 per month. This cap doesn’t apply to any supplies like pumps or syringes, though — only the insulin itself.

2. Insulin costs under private insurance

Have private insurance? Your insulin costs may be capped as well. Eli Lilly and Company, one of the largest manufacturers of insulin in the United States, announced in 2023 that it will cap the cost of its insulin products at $35 per month for those with private insurance.

If you’re taking any of these medications, you’ll see costs go down by the end of 2023:

Insulin lispro
Humalog^®
Humulin^®
Rezvoglar™ (similar to Lantus^®)

Novo Nordisk and Sanofi also made announcements about capping the cost of their insulin products beginning in 2024.

This will decrease costs for patients who take the following medications:

Levemir^®
Novolin^®
Novolog^®
Novolog Mix^®
Lantus^®

If you’re uninsured and take an insulin product manufactured by Eli Lilly, you can download a savings card to reduce your costs to a maximum of $35 per month. Novo Nordisk also has a patient assistance program, and Sanofi is planning to launch an unbranded Lantus biologic that will be capped at $35 for anyone without insurance.

3. Non-insulin diabetes prescriptions

If you’re taking non-insulin prescriptions for diabetes, your cost won’t change. Prescriptions like Jardiance^®, Ozempic^® or other pre-insulin or non-insulin medications aren’t covered under the insulin price caps passed by Congress and implemented by pharmaceutical companies. You won’t likely see any substantial changes in the costs of these medications soon.

4. Options to save on insulin

Need help affording your prescription medications? Options like these can help reduce your costs:

If you’re a Geisinger Health Plan member, it’s often cheaper to have your prescriptions filled through our mail-order pharmacy.
Ask your care team and pharmacist if generic medications, which are often more affordable, are an option for you.
Research the manufacturers of your medications to see if they have pharmaceutical assistance programs that meet your needs.

No matter what, don’t stop or skip medication because you can’t afford it — talk to your Geisinger care team first.

Ask us any questions about your prescription medications. Speaking with your pharmacist or another member of your care team about your care plan means we can help you find solutions that fit your needs.