In the United States, the topic of medication prices has increased substantially, specifically insulin. Insulin is a medication used to treat type one Diabetes which typically costs a thousand dollars or more depending on how much you need, and how much your insurance is willing to pay. Colorado changed this with a bill designed to put a cap on the copay for insulin. The bill HB19-1216 was signed into law by Governor Jared Polis in May of 2019. This bill states that “a carrier that provides coverage for prescription insulin drugs pursuant to the terms of a health coverage plan the carrier offers shall cap the total amount that a covered person is required to pay for a covered prescription insulin drug at an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars per thirty-day supply of insulin, regardless of the amount of type of insulin needed to fill the covered person’s prescription.” This bill will go into effect on January 1st, 2020 and will be overseen by the department of law who will investigate to make sure the bill is being followed accordingly, as well as how these prices are being set.
The important question is how this came to be written into law. The process of a bill becoming a law starts by turning in a bill request to the office of a legal title. Once it has been approved, it goes to the legislature and requires a sponsor(s). In this case, the sponsors consist of two Democrats (Dylan Roberts and Kerry Donovan) and one Republican (Kevin Priola). After that stage, the bill goes to a draft builder in which they work with lobbyists to ensure the bill is well constructed enough to be introduced to the House or Senate. The bill, in this case, went from the House through a series of readings by the committee assigned to it and was then set back to the House for further discussion. This bill specifically started in the House and was assigned to the Health and Insurance committee. The legislative process of how this bill became law is demonstrated below.
After that process, the House must see how much it will cost to implement the bill. Since this is a bill regarding health, budgeting is discussed by Colorado’s Department of Insurance (DOI). It was decided that this bill would increase the state’s cash fund expenditures in the DOI by discussing personal services and Centrally Appropriated costs. The figure below explains that in further detail.
It is then sent back to the committee to decide any amendments to be added which the House did not do. The Senate however assigned it to the Health and Human Services committee who unamended to the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) based on Appropriations. After back and front negotiations, this bill was signed by the Speaker of the House, sent to the Governor and finally, signed by the President of the Senate and the Governor. Although there is always the possibility that the Governor might veto or deny it. If a Governor were to veto or deny a bill, they would have 30 days within the bill’s acceptation process to do so. Personally, it is good to see a step by step example of how bills become law through a steady and efficient process.
Work Cited
“Reduce Insulin Prices.” Reduce Insulin Prices | Colorado General Assembly, 30 Apr. 2019, https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1216.
Romo, Vanessa. “Colorado Caps Insulin Co-Pays At $100 For Insured Residents.” NPR, NPR, 24 May 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/24/726817332/colorado-caps-insulin-co-pays-at-100-for-insured-residents.
The important question is how this came to be written into law. The process of a bill becoming a law starts by turning in a bill request to the office of a legal title. Once it has been approved, it goes to the legislature and requires a sponsor(s). In this case, the sponsors consist of two Democrats (Dylan Roberts and Kerry Donovan) and one Republican (Kevin Priola). After that stage, the bill goes to a draft builder in which they work with lobbyists to ensure the bill is well constructed enough to be introduced to the House or Senate. The bill, in this case, went from the House through a series of readings by the committee assigned to it and was then set back to the House for further discussion. This bill specifically started in the House and was assigned to the Health and Insurance committee. The legislative process of how this bill became law is demonstrated below.
After that process, the House must see how much it will cost to implement the bill. Since this is a bill regarding health, budgeting is discussed by Colorado’s Department of Insurance (DOI). It was decided that this bill would increase the state’s cash fund expenditures in the DOI by discussing personal services and Centrally Appropriated costs. The figure below explains that in further detail.
It is then sent back to the committee to decide any amendments to be added which the House did not do. The Senate however assigned it to the Health and Human Services committee who unamended to the Senate Committee of the Whole (COW) based on Appropriations. After back and front negotiations, this bill was signed by the Speaker of the House, sent to the Governor and finally, signed by the President of the Senate and the Governor. Although there is always the possibility that the Governor might veto or deny it. If a Governor were to veto or deny a bill, they would have 30 days within the bill’s acceptation process to do so. Personally, it is good to see a step by step example of how bills become law through a steady and efficient process.
Work Cited
“Reduce Insulin Prices.” Reduce Insulin Prices | Colorado General Assembly, 30 Apr. 2019, https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/hb19-1216.
Romo, Vanessa. “Colorado Caps Insulin Co-Pays At $100 For Insured Residents.” NPR, NPR, 24 May 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/24/726817332/colorado-caps-insulin-co-pays-at-100-for-insured-residents.
I had no idea that there was not a cap on insulin copays in Colorado. Passing that law will help a lot of people. This was a great post! You explained the process that a bill goes through really well. The charts were very helpful and tied everything in very well.
ReplyDeleteI have family that have had to deal with insulin issues and battling the insurance. I liked how you explained the start stages of the bill to the end which is the implementation stage. It is one of those subjects that insulin can be whatever price the insurance wants it to be because only certain companies can make insulin and to diabetics it is very critical to their life.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that this was done here in Colorado. I know a few people with Type 1 Diabetes that this law would greatly benefit if it became universal across the United States. I am surprised that the bill only costs around $48,000 for the next two years, that is much cheaper than I would have. I liked how you described the process of how a bill becomes a law too.
ReplyDeleteBoth my best friend and my grandfather have Type 1. I have seen firsthand the effects of there being no cap on the copay in Colorado. It's pretty outrageous. I really liked the information you provided in this piece, it was informative and to the point. The explanation of how a bill becomes a law with today's context in mind was nice as well. Great Job!
ReplyDeleteI have family members that have Diabetes so its really interesting to read more about why there is a cap on insulin in Colorado. Good job providing factual information.
ReplyDeleteViola, thanks for your post regarding the insulin cap bill that was signed into law this last legislative session. I really appreciated your description of how this bill was pushed along in the legislative process. I for one am really proud of my state government officials for doing something about the ridiculous problem. Our healthcare system in Colorado is broken, just like it is everywhere in the nation. One thing I think your post highlights is how this bill was a bi-partisan effort. This bill was extremely important to the people of Colorado and we can see how that signaled in the legislature from absolutely no amendments being made throughout the house and senate committee process.
ReplyDeleteMy dog had diabetes and we had to give her shots of insulin and it was always ridiculously expensive for a tiny bottle and now it makes sense! I'm glad that there is now a cap of $100/30 day supply! I really liked how you went into depth about the bill to law process and how you directly tied it into the insulin issue. I really like the structure of this blog post and how you stated a general fact about how a bill is processed and right after, relating that back to HB19-1216! Very well done!
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