15 Comments
Would you be willing to use a bio-similar insulin if it were available at a lower cost than your current insulin?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
© 2023 T1D Exchange. All Rights Reserved.
I selected “Other”, but it’s really N/A (Not Applicable) as I don’t have to pay for my insulin. I live in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland where our NHS (National Health Service) pays for insulin … and every other medical prescription for Type 1 diabetes sufferers. (The NHS is funded via direct taxation of all working people.)
Having said that, if I did have to pay for my insulin I’d have been dead by now. Believe me, I can empathise [empathize] with my American cousins … as well as cousins elsewhere around the World. (I’ve exchanged emails with people, in the United States, who are sadly no longer on this Earthly plane, due to the fact that they simply could not afford the insulin that had been prescribed to treat their diabetes. )
I said “maybe” but I could just as easily said “don’t know”, not sure if there is a difference there? In my case “maybe” because of what I currently don’t know about this hypothesized insulin. That being said, as a pump user my insulin is covered on Part B Medicare rather than Part D and I have a supplement which means I pay nothing for the insulin (though the supplement is a bit pricey). Ah, Nick, I envy your situation! Your American cousins can be so stubborn about universal care.
I said “Maybe”, there are differences in insulins and the differences in bio-similars have yet to be discovered.
I said “maybe” because I have no experience with biosimilar drugs. I don’t pay much for my Humalog right now, $35 for a 3 month supply, so it would pretty much have to be free to get me to switch if I had a choice.
I’m not sure what a bio-similar insulin is. I use Tresiba and Novolog and I pay $5 each.
I don’t know what it is. I would have to know a lot more to answer this question or switch to it.
I don’t know anything about bio-similar insulins.
I already use bio-similar insulins: lispro and glargine which are generated by genetically altered organisms (GMOs) to be identical or almost identical to human insulin. If you use brand names Novolog and Lantus, you are too. T1Ds like me who earlier had no choice but beef and beef-pork insulins are not supposed to donate or sell blood or plasma, due to risk of our transmitting mad cow disease.
Aren’t ALL the currently available Insulin varieties already “bio-similar Insulin” products??? If it worked in my pump and was less expensive, and worked at least as rapidly as the bio-similar Insulin I’m already using, I’d gladly switch… But the ONLY way any bio-similar Insulin could possibly be at a lower cost than my current Insulin is with my current insurance would be if the manufacturer was willing to PAY ME TO USE IT since my current insurance is providing EXCLUSIVELY Novolog for me at $0 cost to me!!!
I didn’t understand the question.
I would want to test it out to make sure that I reacted to it appropriately
If it is exactly like Novolog, which I’m not allergic to, I’d be willing to try it.
As long as it worked similarly and I want allergic to it.
I already use a “bio similar” – – Humalog!
I answered ‘maybe’. It would depend on my local reaction to the bio-similar and its rate of effectiveness (how fast it lowers BG).