Since the age of 9, I have been living with type 1 diabetes. There was a time in my life when I experienced a gap in comprehensive insurance coverage. I was forced to take drastic measures in order to get access to the insulin I needed to survive. I happened to have a friend who was a nurse in a hospital. They often have patients who are prescribed a full vial of insulin and if the patient doesn’t take it home with them, the policy is to toss it. Instead of tossing it, she would pocket it and bring it to me. That is what kept me alive.
Without the insulin I needed, I could not properly manage my diabetes. Because of this, I now have the beginnings of retinopathy and diabetic kidney disease, which could cause me to go blind or need an organ transplant later in life. No person should have to live day to day wondering how they are going to afford the medicine that they need to survive
The prescription drug pricing system in the U.S. is rigged against patients. We are fighting to change that.
Patients For Affordable Drugs will collect patient stories and amplify the voices of patients to make policymakers understand the heavy toll of high priced drugs.
Share your storyPatients For Affordable Drugs is the only independent national patient organization focused exclusively on achieving policy changes to lower the price of prescription drugs.
