A diabetic woman who was charged $675 for her latest medical prescription has told Newsweek that she fears the day she can no longer afford the insulin she relies on to survive. Living with type 1 diabetes for the rest of her life is a daunting prospect for Allie Goecke-Butler, 27, who was diagnosed in 2021. It isn't just the physical or emotional toll of the condition that she fears, but also the financial burden.
She spends $688 a month on health insurance, and then has to pay for extra items required to help manage it, costing a total of $922 a month. Goecke-Butler, of Temecula, California, told Newsweek that she was "panicked and overwhelmed" when she found out her latest three-month prescription would cost $675. She began shaking and contacted her insurance company, Kaiser International Healthgroup, who told her she was responsible for the cost.
Newsweek contacted Kaiser International Healthgroup, who declined to comment. Goecke-Butler said: "I had my prescription transferred from Kaiser to CVS. Kaiser won't cover prescriptions from outside pharmacies, so I knew I'd have to pay.
I drove to the pharmacy and I was already anxious because I thought it would be $225, and that was already out of my price range as I'd spent $300 on my Dexcom [glucose monitor] the day before. "All the breath left my body when I saw $675 on the screen. I thought it had to be a mistake, so I had them rescan it.
I asked why it was so expensive, and the pharmacy technician said my insurance only co.