What JoCo Medicare recipients should know about $35 insulin cap

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There is a $35 cap on insulin for Medicare enrollees, like Overland Park resident Julia Cogley, above, who used to rely on free insulin samples from her doctor to avoid paying $700 a month. Photo credit Juliana Garcia.

After developing Type 2 diabetes a few years ago, Julia Cogley of Overland Park couldn’t pay $700 a month for insulin on top of two other monthly medications.

Cogley said anxiety hangs overhead knowing her monthly medication costs stack up to $2,100. She doesn’t travel or go out to eat because she spends much of her disposable income on medicine.

She’s resorted to cutting cable, one of the last places she can make a change to pad her budget, to save $100 a month.

In order to get the insulin she needed, Cogley worked with doctors who gave her free samples to get by.

But that all is changing now that a federal $35 insulin cap is in effect through the Inflation Reduction Act, which took effect at the start of 2023.

“I really cried the day that I saw that this had been passed, because it is such a huge thing,” Cogley said. “That’s with me recognizing my many blessings in my life.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, whose office referred Cogley to the Post, has highlighted the high price of insulin in the past and believes the insulin cap should be extended to all diabetics beyond just Medicare recipients.

Go deeper: Insulin costs will be capped in 2023, but most people with diabetes will not benefit

👋 Hello! I'm Juliana Garcia, and I cover Prairie Village and the Shawnee Mission School District for the Shawnee Mission Post.

I grew up in Roeland Park and graduated from Shawnee Mission North before going on to the University of Kansas, where I wrote for the University Daily Kansan and earned my bachelor's degree in journalism. Prior to joining the Post in 2019, I worked as an intern at the Kansas City Business Journal.

The work I do every day — from going to school board meetings to staying on top of business openings and closings — is only possible because of our subscribers.

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