A bus of Americans shuttled across the United States and Canadian border on Sunday to buy insulin for a fraction of the price it is in states.
In the U.S., the price of a bottle of insulin is around $400. In Canada, it’s only $40. The stark contrast had led many people to make the trek over the border.
Diabetes advocate Quinn Nystrom, who has made several of these trips before, told media inside the pharmacy that diabetics are dying because of the higher prices. Many choose to ration their insulin, which can be dangerous.
Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders joined a group on Sunday who left Detroit for Windsor. Sanders stood next to a mother who said she spends roughly $1,500 a month for insulin for her son. But in Windsor, she paid $1,000 for a six-month supply.
An American Diabetes Association spokesperson told CTVNews.ca the average price of insulin has nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013.
As for why the prices are so different in the two countries? Sanders said it is because politicians are bought and paid for by large pharma.
“Over the last 20 years, (the) pharmaceutical industry has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign contributions,” Sanders said. “They buy and sell politicians. Republicans and Democrats. In the last 20 years they have spent billions of dollars on lobbying Congress to make sure that they can continue to charge the American people any price they want.”