Minnesota Senate passes insulin affordability bill, headed for negotiations

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Senate voted unanimously to approve an insulin affordability and emergency access bill Thursday. Diabetics who qualify could get an emergency supply of insulin or get onto a short-term assistance program.

The final change made Thursday adds a $100,000 per month fee on pharmaceutical companies that don’t comply with the free insulin mandates. The fine increases to $200,000 after six months.

“We’re not conforming to what we’ve been told we have to do, we’ve not let manufacturers tell us what they’re going to do, we’ve not stuck to the same old formulas,” said state Sen. Scott Jensen (R-Chaska).  "We said, we’re going to try something we think can work.”

Nicole Smith-Holt, an advocate who lost her son after he started rationing his insulin, applauded the passage in the Senate.

“This is another huge step forward, but we still have work to do. Our elected leaders in the Minnesota House and Senate need to come together, put the lives of Minnesotans with diabetes ahead of pharma company profits, and pass a bill that will make insulin more accessible and affordable for every Minnesotan who needs it,” said Smith-Holt in a statement. “We have no time to waste. Minnesotans with diabetes are struggling every day to afford the insulin that they need to survive. People’s lives are at stake. But I’m confident that we can work together and ensure that not one more Minnesotan dies because they can’t afford their insulin.”

There are differences between the House's and Senate's versions of the bill, but not as many as last year.

The issue is headed toward a conference committee.