Johnson Votes NO on $35 Per Month Insulin Cap

(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

By Joe Zepecki

August 10, 2022

During floor debate in the U.S. Senate over the Inflation Reduction Act, Republicans – including Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson – blocked an amendment that would have capped insulin costs at $35 per month. Wisconsin’s other U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin, and all of her Democratic colleagues voted for the cap, which fell three votes short of passage.

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, the Democratic nominee for Senate running against Johnson this fall, was quick to call out Johnson’s vote:

Ron Johnson just blocked a bill to cap insulin costs at $35 a month.

No one should have to choose between a medication their life depends on and putting food on the table. But Ron Johnson doesn’t care—he’s bought and paid for by the pharma lobby.
— Mandela Barnes (@TheOtherMandela) August 7, 2022

Diabetes is an epidemic in Wisconsin, impacting nearly 400,000 state residents who require insulin to survive. Despite the fact that the patent for insulin was sold for just $1 more than one hundred years ago, diabetics pay between $200 and $500 out of pocket each month just to acquire the medication they need to live.

Rather than vote to finally give relief to Wisconsin diabetics, Johnson voted no on the insulin cap. Of course, Johnson also voted against giving medicare the power to negotiate with the drug companies for lower costs. So while Johnson’s vote against capping insulin costs isn’t a surprise, it certainly isn’t good politics, either.