Theimpactof soaringinsulin prices

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will get a headache, and if it’s a little low, I’ll become hungry, shaky, and weak,” Hendrix said. “However, If it is severely high or low, I could pass out

Ain any other country.

Over the past 20 years, insulin prices have increased by 600%, according to JDRF, a nonprofit research organization. Such price trends are detrimental to the 37.3 million Americans living with diabetes.

In 2018, the RAND Corporation found that the average price of one vial of insulin in the U.S. was $98.70. The subsequent most expensive rates were in Japan at only $14.40. For those with Type 1 diabetes who need one to three vials per month, according to the American Diabetes Association, insulin is often an unaffordable necessity.

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that primarily develops in children. Unlike Type 2 diabetes, it is not a result of how someone’s body regulates and uses sugar as fuel, according to Dr. Sherna Madan, MD,

“Insulin is the key that allows glucose to get into the cell, and when you have no insulin, you have a huge amount of blood sugar that cannot be used for energy,” Madan said.

Having Type 1 diabetes causes your pancreas to either make no insulin or very little of it. Without insulin, blood sugar is unable to get to cells and builds up in the bloodstream,

Oliver Hendrix, a junior at Junipero Serra High School, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age. His condition causes constant blood sugar fluctuation, which has several effects on his health.

“Depending on the severity of my blood sugar, it can have minor or severe consequences. For example, if my blood sugar is a little high, I

For Hendrix, diabetes is a problem that forces him to always be alert. He does so using a blood sugar monitor and insulin pump that allows him to

“At any moment, my blood sugar can spike up or go down. I have to be able to correct it in order to maintain good health, and I do that by constantly checking my blood sugar every hour and then correcting it if I need to,” Hendrix said.

Fortunately for Hendrix, he can afford all the supplies he needs to regulate his blood sugar through his insurance, and as a result, he does not have to pay a significant premium on those items.

Here at Carlmont, the school identifies students with Type 1 diabetes with an initial health survey families fill out before their students begin enrollment. The health office can store any necessary medication, including insulin, for students.

“We’re pretty proactive in