“Critical medications like insulin should be accessible and available to everyone who needs it,” said Assemblyman Clinton Calabrese, from New Jersey’s 36th Legislative District. “New Jerseyans should not be forced to choose between being able to afford the medication they need to survive or putting food on the table. Annually, insulin can cost New Jerseyans, on average, almost $5,000, with some – depending on necessary dosage – paying over $12,000 each year. With today’s skyrocketing cost-of-living expenses, we need to work to address the unfair additional burden created on those dependent on this lifesaving medication. This is why I am sponsoring legislation on the state level to make insulin more affordable for those who need it. I urge the Senate to quickly pass the Affordable Insulin Now Act so that we can save lives and provide much-needed relief.”

In New Jersey, every Democratic Member of the Congressional delegation plus Republican Chris Smith voted in favor of the legislation, while Rep. Jeff Van Drew joined 193 House Republicans in voting against lowering the cost of insulin and against their constituents who struggle to afford their insulin to manage their diabetes. The rising cost of prescription drugs is a top concern among New Jerseyans, and House Democrats are helping families across the country find relief at the pharmacy counter.

“As someone who has worked in pharmacies for 62 years, served as a licensed pharmacist for nearly 50 years, and owned a community pharmacy for the past 34 years, I have seen the impact the skyrocketing cost of insulin has had on my customers first-hand,” said Michael Fedida, community pharmacist and pharmacy owner of J&J Pharmacy. “Every day, customers come to me complaining about the cost of prescription drug prices, which is why Congress needs to pass meaningful prescription drug reform. The Senate needs to pass the Affordable Insulin Now Act to make insulin more affordable at the pharmacy counter so that customers don’t have to make life-threatening choices like rationing or skipping doses because they don’t have money for the copay.”

Drug company greed has forced millions of diabetics to pay outrageous prices for the medications they need to survive. Even when insulin vials only cost a few dollars to produce, drug companies have hiked the price to hundreds of dollars per month, forcing too many patients to ration insulin and skip doses altogether. It will put more money in families’ pockets and give them peace of mind knowing they won’t have to choose between purchasing this life saving medication and putting food on the table.

“I have been living with Type 1 diabetes since age 11, and the cost of insulin has been a huge concern for my family and me over the years,” said Arianna Gehan, a Type 1 diabetic who is a biomedical engineering student at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. “The transition to college has been difficult, but managing my diabetes on top of it has been a huge adjustment for me. On top of making sure I’m exercising and eating right, I have to worry about budgeting for the insulin I need to survive. When insulin was first discovered, the researchers sold the patent for only $1 so it could be affordable to everyone. It is sad that today so many people are unable to access insulin because prices are unnecessarily and unethically high, and I hope the Senate will pass the Affordable Insulin Now Act for people like me.”

You can watch the event here, and learn more about how Republicans are reigniting the war on health care, threatening to spike costs for millions of Americans here.