Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch sued the top three insulin manufacturers, saying they were increasing the price of the drug, in some cases nearly 1000%. //

Congress has tried several times over recent years to get the price of insulin down, but failure to do so led the Trump administration to a rules change that would have made it easier for patients in rural communities to have access to insulin and other drugs at lower costs. That rule was paused by the Biden administration in January, and earlier this month the White House upheld the decision to scrap it.

All of this comes at the same time as Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden spearhead an effort to raise before Congress the issue of the surging insulin prices. Grassley and Wyden released a report that “sheds light on factors that led to the surging list price of insulin—a drug that’s been available for almost a century—which has doubled or in some cases tripled in just the past decade, and provides new insight into how the opaque business practices of pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) impact patients, Medicare Part D, and private health plans.” //

Why the Biden administration would scrap a rule that would make the drug cheaper for Americans is a mystery, but the effect could be catastrophic for patients across the country. The companies in question are now ignoring the ceiling prices that were originally established under rule 340b in what appears to be a violation of the law and would result in several highly inconvenient changes for patients across the country.