Post by trueblue on Aug 16, 2022 21:12:09 GMT
'Opinion: Insulin rationing killed my son. Here's what needs to be done'
(CNN)On February 7, 2018, my son Jesse Lutgen, 32, was found dead in his home. Unbeknownst to me, he'd been rationing his insulin, after losing his full-time job and health insurance the previous November. Jesse had looked into Obamacare marketplace health plans for coverage, but he simply could not afford a policy on his part-time pay from a local YMCA.
The last insulin he used came from vials I had given him before he lost his insurance. They were leftovers from a diabetic friend of a friend who had died in Washington state.
This black market for insulin and other essential medications is a reality in America. One in four diabetics ration their insulin or "reported cost-related insulin underuse." Right Care Alliance, a patients and providers coalition, has documented the deaths of at least 14 diabetic Americans who've died due to rationing since 2017, including my son. It's unknown how many others have passed because of diabetic complications due to rationing.
Families of diabetics who pass away look at their remaining insulin supply and realize it is liquid gold. Simply put, it's a product that means life or death for the millions of people who need it.
Families of diabetics who pass away look at their remaining insulin supply and realize it is liquid gold. Simply put, it's a product that means life or death for the millions of people who need it.