Utah is seeking diabetes patients’ testimony to include in insulin price lawsuit

UTAH (Utah News Dispatch) — Two years after Utah sued insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers, arguing they artificially inflated the price of the medication, the state is aiming to include personal testimony from diabetes patients in Utah in its legal strategy.

“The Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Utah Division of Consumer Protection (Division) have filed a lawsuit against these companies to fight for the rights of Utahns,” the Utah Department of Commerce wrote on its website. “To better represent consumers in this suit, the Division is inviting past and present Utah patients to share their experience buying and using diabetes medication in any period during the last ten years.”

According to the Department of Commerce, 200,000 people, roughly 8% of Utah’s population, are diabetes patients. An additional 700,000 people have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes in the state. 

“It is estimated that diabetes patients statewide have collectively spent $1.7 billion dollars after their diagnosis,” the department wrote. “One out of every four dollars spent in healthcare is spent on diabetes.”

The case, filed in November 2023, has moved slowly in federal court with the pharmaceutical companies — including Eli Lilly and Company, and Novo Nordisk — denying the claims introduced by former Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. 

According to Utah’s complaint, the dramatic price hike of insulin coincided with the “rise to power” of pharmacy benefits managers, third-party administrators of drug benefits, in 2003. Since then, in some cases the list price of certain insulins has increased by more than 1000%, the lawsuit says. 

The state’s complaint says that manufacturers “allegedly raised wholesale insulin prices to provide higher rebates” to pharmacy benefits managers and that the administrators “allegedly prioritized high-rebate, high-cost drugs over more affordable options on health plan formularies,” the department said in a news release. 

“Insulin user experiences are critical evidence in Utah’s fight to stop these predatory pricing practices, recover damages, and protect Utah families going forward,” the department said in the release asking for insulin users’ input on its website. 

Submissions will be treated as formal consumer complaints, and while the department committed to make an effort to keep the information confidential, they said the testimonies may be subject to legal discovery and government records requests.