A bill to cap out of pocket costs for insulin at $25 is now being considered by the state Senate Appropriations Committee.
The bill received a “do-not-pass” recommendation from the Senate Human Services Committee on a 4 to 2 vote. But the recommendation was overturned on the Senate floor, and it passed 34 to 12.
"We used reason, and we used emotion, and we used passion," said Sen. Tim Mathern (D-Fargo), one of the bill's sponsors. "And if you put them together, that's how you get a bill passed."
The bill would only cover public employees on the state health plan – but could be expanded, based on that two-year pilot project.
"Diabetes is something that people get, often times with nothing related to their behavior," Mathern said. "Many times, it's inherited."
Mathern said the cost of diabetes is too high.
"We need to keep those people in the proper treatment, so they don't get more expensive treatment in the future, like cutting off their legs, heart problems, all kinds of other things," Mathern said.