Eli Lilly CEO says insulin tweet flap “probably” signals need to bring down cost

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/11/eli-lilly-ceo-says-insulin-tweet-flap-probably-signals-need-to-bring-down-cost/

by stalfosknight • 4 years ago

59 33 4 years ago

arstechnica.com

mikkergp• 4 years ago

Look Musk is going to solve Twitter and Insulin pricing at the same time!

mathlover2• 4 years ago

If by "solve Twitter" you mean "get the hellsite to go away".

I do agree that insulin pricing is whack and it going down would be a good thig.

superchroma3• 4 years ago

you know what, if you reject the algorithm and block all politics and other topics you don't care about as well as some prominent ideologues and then follow some topics you do care about like some kind of art, twitter is actually fine, and I met some cool people on there. People who call it a hellsite are intentionally using it like one.

legitster2• 4 years ago

"Those are the cases that produce the outrage, and understandably," Ricks said. "We want to do our part and work with payers in the system to provide copay assistance. We’re open to feedback [on improving communications],” he said. “We’ve done tons of things, but it obviously hasn’t penetrated the clutter. We’re obviously not the only insulin company. But the tropes go on."

Cool. "We're sorry there are hoops to jump through, we'll do our best to clearly mark where we've placed the stepladders".

Okay, so like, to give this CEO a little credit, it sounds like nobody is paying these prices (at least if they know how to play the game). The issue here is that prices are completely fake, the consumers are supposed to never know the MSRP, and anyone who does is getting caught in the middle of a stupid pricing game between insurers, Medicare, and providers.

So I can see why, from their perspective, they see it as a "communications" issue.

faeriechangling• 4 years ago

I'm no biomedical guy and an just an ignorant schlub, but I remember hearing similar arguments from Shkreli, that he wasn't making Daraprim inaccessible to the poor due to things like copays and he was only stiffing the big insurers, and the reason there was so much anger at him was that these big players manipulated the public into doing their bidding.

I call bullshit on such arguments honestly, the costs of such schemes do get passed onto the consumers and general public. At the very least such schemes raise insurance prices. I feel this sense of getting pissed on and being told that it's raining. It reminds one of the broader issues of administrative overhead and lack of price discovery in the American healthcare system.

legitster2• 4 years ago

Yeah, you don't have to love it. But if the entire system is a stupid game, it seems pointless to get mad at any one particular player for playing by the rules.

But like, there's a reason Mark Cuban's Cost Plus Drugs company will never be able to supply people on Medicare or Medicaid. If you actually advertise a real cost and Medicare says "we're only going" to pay 70% of that" you will be getting bilked for being honest.

dariusj18• 4 years ago

The entire healthcare industry is all based on inflated numbers. Doctors have to charge $100 to get $10 from the insurance company, hospitals charge $1,000 and then accept $100 and write the rest off as "losses" so they can tweak the books in other areas.

paulpauper• 4 years ago

Another win for the EMH , I guess. It shows that the initial price action is not so irrational after all.

4oo4• 4 years ago

So people dying avoidable deaths because of insulin prices is less important than brand reputation? Deaths should be a much stronger signal than a day of bad stock prices.

He deserves credit for potentially taking action now but also blame for the deaths caused by the status quo.

As much as the verified chaos shouldn't have happened, whoever sent that tweet is a hero.

euroderf• 4 years ago

Also free aspirin and T.P. and other basic, simple items TBD, thank you very much.

advisedwang• 4 years ago

It probably highlights that we have more work to do to bring down the cost of insulin for more people

...

We want to do our part and work with payers in the system to provide copay assistance.

In other words: to a Pharma exec, "bring down cost" means that insurance and the government should pick up more of the bill, not that they should charge less.

bart_spoon2• 4 years ago

No, it means that the government and insurance companies already don’t pay what they are charging. You should look into the rebate system in the US. Pharma companies charge high sticker prices only to knock them back down to very low prices via a “rebate” for insurers. Insurers aren’t paying hundreds of dollars for the insulin that it would cost a normal consumer to buy, they are paying tens of dollars that is in line with what people expect insulin to cost.

pyjarrett2• 4 years ago

It's crazy to me that the patent for insulin was sold for $1 so it would be accessible, and now it's one of the most expensive liquids on the planet. A month's supply is around $500 for two little bottles, required for someone with Type I (juvenile) diabetes to stay alive.

isitmadeofglass• 4 years ago

The patent has expired anyone can make insulin cheaper if they want to. The new drugs on patent (many set to expire in the short term future) are all improvements that greatly improve quality of life for patients which is why they are preferred to just using human insulin.

6nf• 4 years ago

Why is it so much cheaper in countries other than the USA?

pdntspa• 4 years ago

Isn't Mark Cuban's cost-plus pharmacy company thing working on this too?

anonuser123456• 4 years ago

Not the same insulin. A months supply of that insulin is 25$ at walmart.

pyjarrett2• 4 years ago

Interesting, thanks for the correction. So the human insulin is $25, and the newer analog types of insulin are the super expensive ones.

bart_spoon2• 4 years ago

The insulin the patent was sold for costs about $20 at Walmart. The modern insulin costing $500 is a completely different product. It’s an insulin analogue. It’s not even human insulin, it’s a synthetic compound that provides the same function of insulin, but with a much more efficacy, convenience, and safety. They were developed by the pharma companies in the last few decades, and continue to be iterated and improved on.

There are reasons to be concerned about insulin pricing, but this remains a completely wrong and uninformed one. It is the equivalent of expressing shock that a smartphone costs hundreds of dollars when walkie talkies have been around for decades and only cost $20.

neilv• 4 years ago

false tweet from a fake-but-blue-checkmarked account
as staff tried to contact Twitter employees but didn't get a response for hours

I'd be happy to see Eli Lilly send lawyers after Twitter for negligence in recent decisions there.

Maybe also subpoena identifying info of the poster, and start discouraging people who plant false news stories (for market manipulation, amusement, or whatever).

effingwewt• 4 years ago

This is a random social media site that businesses choose to use rather than have their own customer service, PR, or media teams handle.

This is not a public infra funded by the government.

Also how is Twitter worse than the greedy life-destroying PharmaCo in any context?

Eli Lilly CEO says insulin tweet flap “probably” signals need to bring down cost

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