Vulnerable Iowa Republican revives bill to cap insulin price at $35 a month

EXCLUSIVE — An Iowa Republican is cosponsoring a bipartisan bill to cap the price of insulin to $35 per month in the hopes of securing support for her reelection campaign in one of the toughest midterm election races in the country.Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) told the Washington Examiner in an interview on Thursday that she is joining Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) in cosponsoring the “Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now” or INSULIN Act. The bipartisan bill would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs to $35 per month for private insurance plans, matching the current cap on the diabetes medication for Medicare beneficiaries. “It’s not a Democrat or Republican issue,” Miller-Meeks told the Washington Examiner. “This is a bipartisan issue that giving people access to insulin can be life-saving, and we need to make sure that those who require it have access to it and access at an affordable rate.” Miller-Meeks, who first took national office in 2019, narrowly secured reelection in 2024 in the tightest House race in the country that year, winning by less than 800 votes.She is facing the same challenger, former Democratic state Rep. Christiana Bohannan, in the November midterm elections. Early polling suggests that Bohannan may have a slight lead against Miller-Meeks.Democrat lobbying groups have pressed hard on Miller-Meeks’s healthcare record, including running advertising campaigns saying that she has not done enough to lower healthcare costs for Iowans. But her move to cosponsor a high-profile bipartisan measure on drug costs could convince swing voters in her district to keep her in office.Healthcare affordability has been a top issue for Republicans and Democrats in this year’s midterm elections, as voters consistently rank healthcare costs as a major strain on their finances. Insulin costs in particular have been a burden for the roughly 40 million Americans living with diabetes.A June 2023 study from the American Diabetes Association found that, among respondents who depend on insulin, 72% are paying more than $35 per month for their medicine, while nearly 40% paid $150 per month or more.One in three diabetic survey respondents said they had to cut back on grocery expenses to afford necessary healthcare, and another quarter skipped or delayed a medical appointment due to cost.Miller-Meeks was one of 12 Republicans in the House to cross party lines to vote to cap insulin costs at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries in 2022. The stand-alone legislation did not pass, but the measure was eventually rolled into the major Democrat healthcare and climate bill passed in 2022 under former President Joe Biden.Miller-Meeks, a member of the GOP Doctors Caucus, said her medical training in ophthalmology and treating patients with eye problems as a result of diabetes contributes to her passion for lowering insulin costs for the public. Nearly 3 in 10 adults with diabetes in the United States, or roughly 9.6 million people, live with diabetic retinopathy, a disease caused by high blood sugar levels that damage tiny blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 220,000 Americans are legally blind as a result of diabetic retinopathy, and another 1.8 million are at high risk of losing their eyesight. The American Diabetes Association estimated the total annual cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2022 was roughly $413 billion, accounting for a quarter of all U.S. health spending. “If you keep your, you know, your hemoglobin A1C in good control and your diabetes in good control, you’re less likely to serve long-term complications, which are not only devastating to the patient but also to the cost of the healthcare system at large,” Miller-Meeks said.The INSULIN Act, which was originally introduced in the Senate by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), passed out of the Senate health committee in July with bipartisan support and is awaiting consideration by the full Senate.Miller-Meeks said she is in conversation with House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and health subcommittee chairman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) to ensure the bill crosses the finish line in the House. GROWTH IN RURAL HOSPITALS UNDERCUTS DEMOCRATIC ATTACKS ON GOP ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILLThe bill will likely not move forward before the midterm elections in November. Whether the bill makes it into a bigger healthcare legislation by the end of the year remains to be seen.“This is an issue we’re going to keep working on because for many people this is life or death,” Miller-Meeks said.