Democrats kept the provision in the bill anyway, but Republicans on Sunday raised a point of order that led to a vote that limited the $35 cap to Medicare beneficiaries only. The final vote was 57-43, with seven GOP senators joining all members of the Senate Democratic Caucus on the vote — but a 60-vote threshold was needed to keep the private market provision in place.
The seven GOP senators who supported the provision were Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, John Kennedy and Bill Cassidy, both of Louisiana, and Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both of Alaska.
Longstanding mission
This year, Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia pushed a bill that would limit the cost of insulin to $35, as did Collins and Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire in a bipartisan effort. Neither has advanced.
More than 37 million people in the US have diabetes — more than 1 in 10 Americans — though not all are aware of it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 7 million people rely on insulin.