Walmart said the private brand insulin offers an affordable solution for people struggling to pay for diabetes treatments as its prices are up to 75% lower than those of competing products.
ReliOn NovoLog is a short-acting insulin, which people typically take before meals to help people regulate spikes in blood sugar. Short-acting insulins are taken multiple times a day, usually before meals, and produce spikes or peaks in blood sugar.
Other types of insulin, like long-acting insulins, may be taken less often, and more steadily regulate blood sugar levels throughout the day. Short-acting and long-acting insulins are typically taken alongside each other.
“Now that Walmart is offering a better, more effective, safer [product], it’s really an awesome option for those patients that are paying a lot out of pocket already for their insulin, cutting insulin doses, or going without insulin,” Stephanie Redmond, PharmD, CDCES, BC-ADM, cofounder and vice president of Diabetes Doctor, tells Verywell.
People with diabetes can incur high medical costs, at an estimated $9,601 a year per person, according to the American Diabetes Association.
“We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions,” Cheryl Pegus, MPH, executive vice president of Walmart Health & Wellness, said in the press release. “We also know this is a condition that disproportionately impacts underserved populations.”
Walmart’s private-brand insulin will cost $72.88 per vial and $85.88 per FlexPen for people without insurance. This may benefit people who have no health insurance or have a high deductible for medications.
People with Type 1 diabetes usually start with two injections of two different types of insulin per day and generally progress to 3-4 injections of different types per day. Most people with Type 2 diabetes may need one injection per day without any diabetes pills. Some may need a single injection of insulin in the evening along with diabetes pills. Sometimes diabetes pills stop working, and people with Type 2 diabetes may progress from single to 3-4 injections of insulin per day.
While Walmart’s short-acting insulin is an affordable alternative, getting on a health insurance plan with a low deductible is the most cost-sustainable option for people who have access to one, Redmond says. Further, patients with diabetes often have to take both short-acting and long-acting insulins, so they will still need to find and pay for the latter.
Walmart already offers two kinds of insulins, Regular (R) insulin and NPH insulin, which are short-acting and intermediate-acting insulins, respectively. They are even more affordable than the new ReliOn NovoLog, but there is no pen option. And unlike the latest product, these are not analog insulins and are of lower quality, Redmond suggests.
The R and NPH insulins are considered lower quality because they have a less predictable peak, meaning it can be harder for a doctor to advise their patient on the best time to take a dose, she adds. This can increase the risk of dangerously low blood sugar.
“There’s almost never a scenario where I could tell you that I thought [the Walmart R or NPH insulin] was the best insulin for [a patient]; it was purely because they couldn’t afford it,” Redmond says.
Still, insulin can be life or death, she adds. For those people, making sure they have access to brands like Walmart’s ReliOn is essential.
“It’s a step in the right direction,” Redmond says. “Even though it’s not going to benefit all diabetics, it certainly could be a lifesaver for so many.”
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