Update, Sept 24, 2019: At the Star Tribune, Jessie Van Berkle dove into the debate in Minnesota GOP legislator touts $25 insulin at Walmart; diabetics say it has drawbacks;GOP lawmaker's video criticized as irresponsible. Read it carefully. . . and read the comments. [end update]
On Friday, Lake Crystal New House Republican Jeremy Munson posted this video on Facebook:
When we watched it on Saturday night, this was the text that accompanied the video:
The cost of traditional (non-synthetic) insulin has remained the same the past 25 years.
✔️$24.88 per vial. No insurance required
✔️No doctor's prescription required
✔️Novo Nordisk-manufactured Novolin
✔️Readily available (90% of people in the US live within 10 miles of a Walmart)
✔️Affordable (vs. the Alec Smith Insulin Act which proposed $25 co-pays for a one-time 90 day supply and taxed others $10.4 million per year)
You may not believe the price stability, given the divisive rhetoric in St Paul, arguing over who is more entrenched with Big Pharma. If you've let government or insurance companies price your prescription drugs the past decade, you may not know that 4,759 Walmart stores across the country sell three different varieties of insulin, all priced at $24.88. IT IS NOT THE NEWER, SYNTHETIC INSULIN or dispensed in convenient applicators which have been developed in recent years. But this is the same type of insulin, traditionally administered, that has saved millions of lives over the past century at a fraction of the cost of what is marketed and advertised by Big Pharma.
Diabetics should talk to their pharmacist and doctor to understand if the traditional insulin could be used to treat their diabetes if the newer style of insulin is not available. This post is not medical advice, it is a discussion about the cost of traditional insulin and how this relates to legislation being proposed in St Paul.
Update: Our friend Dan Feidt created a slightly rectified readymade video on YouTube here. end update.
The post drew strong rebukes in the comments. Some examples:
Heather Paulsen Jeremy Munson do you have any idea of the difference in level of care between traditional insulin and the newer varieties? If you don't, please do not preach about how wonderful traditional insulins are and how inexpensive they are when it's a difference between living a good life for having the kidney transplant, okay? I have been a type 1 diabetic for 38 years thank you very much
Natalie Shelton We ran out of insulin for our Son who is 16 ( with No insurance ) so in an Emergency situation we bought this insulin thinking WOW this is great $25 insulin! Well our Emergancy situation turned into an almost deadly situation, my son almost died using this. I honestly don’t think I would use it on my dog if he had Type 1 ( because I love him to much) it is irresponsible to advertise this CRAP & not give a side not ( May cause you to loose your life) Type 1 is potentially deadly & those who have it be able to afford their life saving medications. 😡
Jennifer Draney please take your video down? loved ones have died switching to this insulin because they couldn't afford the insulin they need to live. I worry more people will try this!!! And they might try it because they have seen your video online. This is an commitee issue & is this is a HUMANE ISSUE. For type 1 diabetics insulin is like air. We need it to survive. Would you give this to your baby?type 1 diabetes happens at any age. What if they raise price again, and above your pay grade? & you lose your employment. & your suggestion to take R & H insulin is still out there in this video. I guarantee you wouldnt give this to your children! Take this down! Theres so many deaths & I'm betting that the guilt of this mistake; this misinformation will hit you pretty hard when the you see the next death on the news of someone that couldnt afford there medication & watched this video on taking Walmart insulin as an alternative. It will hit you to your core. Take it down & just say I was mistaken.
Katie Spackman Welsh Wow. This video is so frustrating. ‘I am not diabetic.’ Until you walk a day in a T1D’s shoes please don’t insult them with your uneducated opinion on how to save their lives! You are almost mocking every effort that I make working 3 jobs, raising 2 kids, paying a monthly premium that is higher than my mortgage in order to have insurance that has a deductible so high that I STILL can’t afford life saving insulin! This Walmart insulin is not a long term solution. It’s literally like putting a bandaid on a bullet wound. It’s unreliable. Unpredictable. And leads to a very poor quality of life for someone that is suffering from an life long autoimmune disorder. Believe me...I have prayed, begged, borrowed for a cure for our family. Your video makes it seem as easy as walking into any Walmart and picking up some cheap medicine that will fix the larger problem. In addition to figuring out how to pay for insulin, many of us also have to figure out how to pay for insulin pump supplies, insulin pumps, test strips, ketone strips, lancets, syringes, CGM supplies, the list goes on and on. Please don’t think it’s as easy as walking into a Walmart for a solution. It’s literally akin to telling a gunshot victim to go to Walmart and buy a bandaid. Is it going to lead to a quality of life that will enable you to be a productive member of society? Nope. Is it reliable? Nope. Will it save your life? It’s unlikely. The last person I would take medical advice from is a politician. But unfortunately there may be some people that watch this and believe this is a solution for them. We deserve better. We deserve better as Americans that are exhausting all of our resources to pay premiums and deductibles that are so high we can not afford a medication that is not affordable due to pharmaceutical greed. I’m not asking for a free solution. I’m asking an affordable solution.
Walmart insulin is not the same thing as the insulin that most people use and it cannot be used in a pump.
— Rep. Alice Mann (@AliceMann4House) September 21, 2019
Politicians: Please stay out of our exam rooms.
Alec Smith Insulin Act author Mike Howard, DFL-Richfield, responded:
This is what you get when Minnesotans with diabetes are left out of the discussion. We must listen and center those with lived experiences. Only in partnership can we be successful in ensuring all Minnesotans have access to affordable insulin. #mnleg https://t.co/V80oaStjdb
— Mike Howard (@mikehowardmn) September 21, 2019
There are other responses to Mann, but one mother replies:
Because of insulin price gouging my son had to use Walmart as an alt insulin. He died last year because it wasn’t the insulin needed and we couldn’t afford $1700 a month for his regular meds. #Insulin4all #myboyshouldnothavedied #thisneedstostop
— Nik #insulin4all (@cloudess) September 21, 2019
We've asked Dr. Mann in a reply whether other Minnesota House Republicans--in the main caucus led by Minority Leader Kurt Daudt--posted this nonsense as well.
Update 9/22/2019: A Republican operative tells us that they knew of no member of Minority Leader Daubt's caucus who had posted a video similar to that Munson shared on Facebook. [end update]
Related posts:
- Local Madelia businessman and telecom lobbyist vows to get Jeremy Munson tossed from office
- MNHouse Eric Lucero & Jeremy Munson stand shoulder-to-shoulder with anti-vax leaders
- Random white guy with an opinion on PBS thinks Sioux & Dakota fought war against each other
- Mankato Free Press scolds Jeremy Munson for "approach befitting a third grader" on Almanac
- Julie Rosen and Bob Gunther go to bat for Rapidan Township--where's Jeremy Munson?
Yeah, that guy.
Photo: Jeremy Munson, Lake Crystal's New House Republican, during his infamous appearance on Almanac, when he made a potty humor joke about the Dakota word for lake.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.
And I bet that guy buys penicillin at fleet farm to0.
Posted by: Andrew Lewis | Sep 21, 2019 at 11:33 PM