Insulin price decrease affects students, staff

prashu SIDELLA

Wake up. Check blood sugar levels. Take medication. Eat the right amount of healthy food. Don’t skip meals. Keep rechecking sugar levels. Sleep. Repeat.

This is what a typical day looks like for someone who has diabetes.

Diabetes is a disease that causes high blood sugar levels, known as hyperglycemia. When people eat, their body breaks down food into sugar, and insulin helps send it to the blood. However, the bodies of diabetics do not create enough insulin and therefore they must inject themselves with insulin in order to regulate blood sugar levels.

Insulin is vital to the needs of diabetics; however, it comes at a cost.

Dawna Barnhart, science teacher, was 28 years old when she was first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Barnhart gets a three-month supply of insulin at a time, and with insurance, she ends up paying $1,000 for four vials of insulin.

The supplies needed to treat diabetes don’t just stop at insulin though.

Because Barnhart is on an insulin pump, her endocrinologist has to write a prescription for all the supplies required. Syringes, tubing and the pump itself must be refilled just like any other prescription.

However, last year, President Biden capped insulin at $35 a month for people with Medicare, but in this year’s State of the Union address, the president called for this cap to extend to all Americans.

“Putting in a regulation on how much insulin can be charged is a beautiful thing and should have been done years ago,” Barnhart said.

Drew Mathers, sophomore, was diagnosed with type one diabetes in the third grade.

“I am fortunate enough to have insurance that will pay for a good amount of the insulin, but we’re still paying some out of pocket,” Mathers said. “People without insulin or without insurance still have trouble.”

Lower insulin prices are going to create a little less stress for many diabetics.

“I really think that once they actually start to bring down these prices, it’s going to make insulin a lot more available for lower-income families,” Mathers said. “The problem that people face is they try to use less insulin for the carbs they’re eating which is just not healthy.”

Keaton Mabie, senior, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the first grade.

“It gets easier over time, but there’s also a kind of burnout stage of where I don’t want to deal with it anymore,” Mabie said. “So, I don’t take care of it as much as I should.”

As Mabie is a senior, he said the decrease in insulin prices will help him in the future.

“I think it’s great that prices are going down for people,” Mabie said. “When I go to college and am no longer on my family’s insurance plan, it’s good that prices are going to be low enough that I don’t have to ration or change my food diet.”

Type 1 vs. Type 2 Diabetes

Type 1 is a genetic disease where the body is unable to produce insulin. Insulin allows glucose, which is used for energy, to enter cells.

Type 2 is a disease that develops mainly in people who are over the age of 40, overweight and have a family history with diabetes. In this case, the body’s cells are resistant to insulin even though it is produced.

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Some diabetics use a blood glucose monitor like this one. The device continuously measures blood sugar so diabetics can adjust their food, exercise and insulin.

Lisa Giles, maternal and child health epidemologist, works as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) coordinator at the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Sevices.

WHAT DOES THE CDC’S REPORT OF YBRS DATA DISCUSS ABOUT ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH?

The CDC article is looking at the 2021 YRBS data from high school students across the United States. The data is showing alarming increases across different topics such as feeling sad or hopeless, having suicidal thoughts, and sexual violence, especially among females.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS REPORT, AND HOW DO YOU USE THESE IN YOUR WORK?

These statistics are useful because I can look at them and see how Missouri is doing in comparison to the national data. Programs can use this data to see how the pandemic has exacerbated the mental issues among adolescents and enhance existing initiatives to meet the increased need.

HOW CAN SCHOOLS COMBAT THIS DEVELOPING CRISIS?

As the article says, schools can work to foster school connectedness so that students can feel close to their community and ensure students have someone to reach out to in times of need. Schools can also recognize that adolescents are dealing with a mental health crisis and there may be an increased need for techniques to manage feelings as well as highlight the need for clear sexual consent. Students can reach out to a friend who they make think is struggling.