Group ‘caravans’ to Canada for cheaper insulin

A group of Minnesotans has banded together in a “caravan” to regularly travel into Canada and obtain insulin at a cheaper price than they could in the United States amid rising drug costs nationwide.
Quinn Nystrom, a Minnesota woman who formerly sat on the city council of Baxter, Minn., tweeted on Saturday that the group of six state residents had obtained a supply of insulin, needed for Type 1 diabetes treatments, for just $150 at a Canadian drug store, far cheaper than in the U.S.
“1 vial of Novolog in the USA = 10 vials of NovoRapid in Canada,” she tweeted, adding: “=6 happy & grateful ppl w/type 1 diabetes & T1 Mom’s”
SUCCESS! -5-hour road trip. ✅ -Insulin purchased where NO prescription was needed! ✅ 1 vial of Novolog in the USA = 10 vials of NovoRapid in Canada ✅ =6 happy & grateful ppl w/type 1 diabetes & T1 Mom’s #CaravanToCanada #insulin4all #MNinsulin4all pic.twitter.com/0B0jelAQkj
— Quinn Nystrom (@QuinnNystrom) May 4, 2019
In an interview with NBC affiliate KARE news in Minneapolis, Nystrom said that purchasing insulin in the U.S. was not a viable option for her family.
{mosads}”How can you debate saving $3,000 with a five-hour road trip?” she asked, adding: “So I paid, in January, just $600 for two vials for a one-month supply.”
Though insulin has changed little since it was introduced nearly a century ago, its price has skyrocketed in recent months.
Congressional leaders have pledged to investigate spiking prices amid reports of Americans dying after rationing their insulin due to high costs.
“I have heard stories about people reducing their life-saving medicines, like insulin, to save money,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said recently during a hearing. “This is unacceptable and I intend to specifically get to the bottom of the insulin price increase.”