SANTA FE – A bill to cap how much New Mexicans with diabetes spend on life-saving insulin received bipartisan and overwhelming support from the state House of Representatives on Friday and now goes to the state Senate. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following statement:

“This legislation ends an unacceptable dilemma for thousands of New Mexicans with diabetes forced to choose between life-saving insulin and other expenses. We are cutting costs for patients wherever we can – and we are making health care more accessible, more affordable and as high quality as it can possibly be. I congratulate the House for their bipartisan support of this humane measure.”

In the last decade, the list prices of common types of insulin have roughly tripled. Today, a quarter of American adults with diabetes say the price has impacted their insulin use, according to the American Diabetes Association.

The amended version of House Bill 292, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto and Rep. Micaela Cadena, caps co-pays and out-of-pocket expenses for insulin at $25 per prescription for a 30-day supply. The governor asked for the measure in her State of the State address at the outset of the legislative session as another way to decrease health care costs.
Colorado and Illinois have enacted insulin price caps at $100 per month; several other states are evaluating similar measures.

House Bill 292 also asks the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance to study the affordability of copays for other drugs, such as asthma medications and antidepressants.