MADISONVILLE, Tenn. — The death of a young diabetic man in Minnesota is bringing to light the rising cost of insulin.
62-year-old Michael Hague has Type 2 diabetes, and that's been really hard.
"To me, diabetes is a death sentence," Hague said.
He has neuropathy and said it 'feels like lightning.'
"Both my feet are numb, probably about three inches above my ankles I don't have no feeling," he said.
He and his wife live in Madisonville by way of Indiana. In 2000, Hague said he was struck by lightning when working on machinery at work. Now, he and his wife rely on disability social security, which makes money for health care really tight.
"There are some months we only have $60 or $80 to buy food," Hauge said.
For the first part of the year, Hague's Medicare plan allows him to pay $42 a month for one of his insulin prescriptions.
In July, he hit the coverage gap, or the "doughnut hole," and has to pay much more for the rest of the year. That's for all of his prescriptions, including needles, which he says are normally about $14 for a box of 100.
But now, he said he will have to pay about $100 for a box of needles -- and he said he uses six per day.
"My Levemir went up to $276," Hague said.
So to make his drugs last longer, he rations. He said his doctor does not know he does this.
"I'm supposed to take 75 units of Levemir twice a day," Hague said. "I usually take it back down to 60."
Hague said he does notice a difference -- he gets 'tingly' and his eyes twitch -- and pharmacists said that's dangerous.
"Leg amputations, to causing blindness, or even nerve damage, all that happens because blood sugar is too high long term," said East Tennessee Discount Drug pharmacist Chase Arms.
Arms said there are coupons out there that patients can ask for, but people need to check to see that they work with their plan.
Hague is not alone. According to a study from the American Diabetes Association (ADA), the price of insulin has nearly tripled since 2002--that's the year before Hague was diagnosed.
"It's terrible," Hague said. "It shouldn't happen. This is America."
He wants lawmakers to make some changes so others don't have to struggle like he does.
In April, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Knoxville, wrote a letter to the Subcommittee on Health to better look into the rising costs of insulin and other drugs.
"I don't preach about it, I don't tell everyone that I do it, because, you know, I was dealt this hand," Hague said.
In the meantime, Hague spends time with his five children and ten grandchildren.
"I got ten grandbabies, I want to see my grandbabies grow up."