AARP WV notes diabetes is one of the main health problems in West Virginia
WV Press Release Sharing
CHARLESTON, W.Va — The West Virginia House of Delegates passed House Bill 4252, a bill that reduces the co-pay on insulin and medical devices used by people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
AARP WV, in promoting and supporting passage of the bill, noted it is estimated that 240,000 West Virginians have either type 1 or type 2 diabetes with an estimated 65,000 with undiagnosed diabetes. Medical costs attributed to diabetes are more than $2.5 billion annually in West Virginia.
HB 4252 would amend a previous law, allowing copays for a 30-day supply of insulin covered by prescriptions to drop from a maximum of $100 to $35. HB 4252 makes changes to a law passed by the West Virginia Legislature in 2020. House Bill 4543 set a hard cap of $100 on a 40-day supply of insulin.
HB 4252 goes further than the 2020 bill by also putting a $100 cap on cost sharing for devices used by diabetics, such as blood glucose test strips, glucometers and continuous glucose meters, lancets and lancing devices and insulin syringes. It would also put a $250 cap on cost sharing for insulin pumps used to inject insulin at programmed intervals.
House Health Chairman Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell stated that “This now includes devices which are key to diabetes…The old days are gone. We now have continuous glucose monitors. You can now get your glucose level on your phone. It’s very common, but obviously technology has a cost. This is an attempt to particularly help our families, because our families are struggling with these costs.”
The bill passed on a 94-3 vote. Three members were absent. You can see how your Delegate(s) voted here.
To read the entire article about the passage of HB 4252 and what that means to West Virginians, click here.
To view the bill and track it’s progress through the Legislature, click here.
