MORGANTOWN – The House Health and Human Resources Committee passed a bill reducing the insurance copays for insulin, medical devices for patients with diabetes and for insulin pumps, Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer told The Dominion Post on Thursday.
The committee passed an amended version of HB 4252. The bill reduces the copay for insulin from $100 to $35 for a 30-day supply.
It also sets a $100 cap for a 30-day supply of devices, defined as blood glucose test strips, glucometers, continuous glucometers, lancets, lancing devices and insulin syringes.
The introduced bill excluded coverage of insulin pumps, but Fleischauer said the committee version provides for a patient copay of $250 once every two years.
“I’m thrilled,” she said. “It saves people’s lives. It extends their lives.”
Fleischauer led the effort on the legislation that previously reduced the insulin copay to $100 – as patients were facing copays of $600 per month along with $1,000 per month for devices and equipment.
The updated version of the bill is not yet available to read. It has only one committee reference and could be reported to the full House on Friday and be on first reading as early as Monday.
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