DS

The topic I chose to talk about again is the problems people facing in trying to pay for their medications, especially insulin. With the rising costs of insulin diabetics are choosing to take less insulin or a brand of insulin that does not work very well with them because of the rising costs of insulin. Insulin prices have more than doubled between 2012 and 2016 and the number of deaths due to diabetic complications has risen as well (Jones, 2019). Too frequently we hear about a young adult, who aged out of their parent's insurance, who have passed away because they could not afford their insulin. There are many other adults between jobs or who have low paying jobs that can not afford insulin costs that have passed away as well. Many people who are not diabetics are unaware of how bad the rising costs are unless they personally know a diabetic. Seeing articles like this can be depressing, but hopefully eye-opening for those who are not on multiple medications. Looking through the social lens it is hard to understand why medications are so expensive, especially when these medications are what helps keep people alive and healthier. Viewing the rising costs of medications from a social lens is different from that of the history lens because the history lens tries to explain why medication costs are rising while the social lens tells the story of how the rising costs are harming people. 

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