We were struck by two items about Minnesota's debate about insulin affordability that showed up in our news feed.
In St. Paul
First, there's the Session Daily article, State lawmakers still stuck in efforts to reach solution to insulin crisis:
A bipartisan House and Senate working group remain stuck in their efforts to find a way to get Minnesota diabetics access to emergency insulin, a public hearing on Wednesday made clear.
Leading lawmakers in both parties have made it a high priority to create a state insulin assistance program since the 2019 legislative session began nearly 12 months ago.
But state legislators and Gov. Tim Walz have yet to reach agreement on how to tackle the issue, even blowing past a late November deadline the governor had set for taking action.
The House and Senate Insulin Working Group, established in October with the hope of finding a solution in 60 days, delivered an update on their work Wednesday. Despite months of discussion, the public hearing showed House DFLers and Senate Republicans remain at loggerheads over key parts of a plan to help diabetics obtain emergency supplies of insulin, a drug whose price has skyrocketed dangerously in recent years.
The Minnesota House Information Services has posted the video of Wednesday's meeting:
In Brainerd
At the Brainerd Dispatch on Wednesday, Chelsey Perkins reported in ‘What’s the holdup?’ County commissioner pushes lawmakers on insulin solution:
A possible special session focused on the insulin affordability issue never materialized, and a bipartisan task force missed a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal. Differences persist between the Republican and Democratic plans, primarily in how to pay for a plan to bring free insulin to those in need.
After months of negotiations, why has the Minnesota Legislature still not crafted a solution to give diabetics access to an emergency supply of insulin?
That question arose more than two hours into a meeting Tuesday, Dec. 17, between Crow Wing County officials and area state lawmakers to define county priorities headed into the 2020 legislative session. Commissioner Doug Houge broached the topic in a pointed fashion with state Sen. Carrie Ruud, R-Breezy Point, and Republican state Reps. Josh Heintzeman and Dale Lueck. The issue is a personal one for Houge, who faces the fourth anniversary Friday of the unexpected loss of his 27-year-old son Brandon due to complications of Type 1 diabetes.
“Why not? What’s the holdup?” Houge responded to Ruud’s acknowledgment the issue remained unresolved.
Ruud said insurance companies have responded by offering solutions on their own without government intervention, and she pointed out lawmakers cannot call a special session — only Gov. Tim Walz has the power to do so. A possible special session focused on the insulin affordability issue never materialized, and a bipartisan task force missed a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal. Differences persist between the Republican and Democratic plans, primarily in how to pay for a plan to bring free insulin to those in need.
The skyrocketing cost of insulin has become a hot-button issue across the nation with a 10-day supply now costing as much as $300. About 330,000 adults in Minnesota have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, according to the state Department of Health. Reports of insulin rationing around the state brought the debate to the forefront, especially in cases when Minnesotans died from complications of diabetes. After Tuesday’s meeting, Houge said there’s no way to know if his son, who died of ketoacidosis, rationed his insulin.
“I wish I could ask him,” Houge said.
It’s frustrating, the commissioner added, to know some people like Brandon aren’t able to access the medication they need to live.
“Is it on anybody’s radar to take something and figure something out here before we lose more?” Houge asked the legislators.
“Well, not before session. We’re going in on the 11th (of February),” Ruud said. “This whole time, the governor could’ve called a special session any time.”
“I struggle with that,” Houge shot back. “It’s easy to point the finger at the governor but during the session I would’ve thought that the two groups could’ve sat down and ironed out at least a temporary solution to this, but it just seems like finger-pointing back and forth.” . . .
Read the rest at the Dispatch and Brandon Douglas Houge's 2015 obituary.
Since 2016, there's been a yearly Because of Brandon fundraiser for diabetes education. Read about the first fundraiser in Because of Brandon: Fundraiser to support diabetes education set for July 30.
Photo: Brandon Houge.
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