Walmart unveils low-price insulin as more patients with diabetes struggle to pay for drug
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/29/walmart-unveils-low-price-analog-insulin-amid-rising-diabetes-drug-costs.htmlJUN 29 2021
Walmart said Tuesday it will offer a less expensive version of insulin that could better fit into the budgets of millions of Americans who don’t have health insurance or struggle to pay for the lifesaving diabetes drug.
Starting this week, the retailer will sell an exclusive private-label version of analog insulin, ReliOn NovoLog, to adults and children who have a prescription. The drug will be available at its membership-based Sam’s Club in mid-July. The insulin will cost about $73 for a vial or about $86 for a package of prefilled insulin pens.
The insulin is the latest addition to Walmart’s private brand of diabetes products, ReliOn. It already sells a low-price version of insulin for about $25 as part of the line, but that is an older formulation that some doctors and advocates say is not as effective at managing blood sugar swings as newer versions of insulin, called analogs.
With the move, Walmart will bring its longtime focus on “everyday low price” to a drug that is a medical necessity for a growing number of Americans. More than 34 million people in the U.S. — or nearly 11% of the population — have diabetes, and about 1.5 million Americans are diagnosed every year, according to the American Diabetes Association....
