Fort Wayne mom calls new insulin price cap “vitally important”

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - “As a parent, it’s really been rather devastating to see him have to go through this,” Chris Perez said.

For Chris Perez, watching her son deal with the challenges of Type 1 diabetes has been difficult. Her son, a senior at Homestead, was diagnosed as a Type 1 diabetic back in 2019. It was a diagnosis Perez admits was blindsiding.

“He, all of sudden, became very, very sick,” Perez said. “Within a very short period of time, he dropped about 20 pounds.”

Perez quickly found out the importance insulin would have in her son’s life.

“It literally is lifesaving,” Perez said. “He would not be able to live without the insulin.”

The catch? The price.

Perez says they’re fortunate, because their insurance covers the cost of her son’s insulin products.

But for others? Perez says it can be much more difficult.

“What we have here just for his insulin would be $1,000 a month if insurance didn’t pay for it,” Perez said.

But now? A change.

Eli Lilly announced Wednesday it will cap the out-of-pocket price of insulin at $35.

“That cap is vitally important for people who have diabetes,” Perez said. “Particularly people with Type 1 diabetes.”

It’s a change Perez calls important, but one she wishes came sooner.

“The price cap definitely should have been done quite a while ago,” Perez said. “But we have to celebrate this new accomplishment and move forward and hope that we can continue to save people.”

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