ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) — Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) visited LECOM in Elmira today to discuss his new bipartisan plan to cap the amount Americans pay out of pocket for insulin.

If enacted, the INSULIN act (Improving Needed Safeguards for Users of Lifesaving Insulin Now), will aim to drop the amount that Americans pay for insulin down from $200-600 per prescription to a maximum of $35 per month.

The INSULIN act aims to achieve this lower price by encouraging insulin manufacturers to reduce their list prices. Sen. Schumer hopes to achieve this by ensuring that insurance plans and prescription drug middlemen cannot collect rebates and to make insulin eligible for cost-sharing protections. The protections include a waiver of any applicable deductible and limiting copays or coinsurance to no more than $35 a month.

Schumer said that the bipartisan agreement, announced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Susan Collins (R-ME), “creates a unique moment for the senate to come together and pass this life-changing legislation, and it should do so without delay.”

According to Schumer, patients and payers incur over $15 billion a year in direct medical expenses from diabetes in New York and another $6 billion in costs due to lost productivity. Because of high costs, Schumer says that some studies estimate that as many as 1 in 4 Americans ration the drug.

Diabetes remains one of the leading causes of death in the United States, claiming over 100,000 lives in 2021. Diabetes is also one of the most expensive chronic conditions in the county, costing a total of $327 billion per year.