SAN ANTONIO – Insulin is an important hormone that regulates a person's glucose level and keeps blood sugar levels in check.
People with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2, require insulin for different reasons. The rising cost of insulin has become a hot-button issue, especially in the past several weeks.
This week Colorado placed a $100 cap on the co-pay for insulin, becoming the first state to pass such a law.
That's great news for Colorado, but what about Texas?
Turns out, Walmart sells Novolin ReliOn Insulin 70/30 for $24.88 per bottle. And that's without insurance.
Delivery isn't available for ReliOn -- you have to go to the Walmart pharmacy directly to pick up the medication.
There are issues associated with this option, however, including the fact that it's available without a prescription, which could lead a patient to incorrectly dose themselves with potentially deadly results.
"Doctors and diabetes advocates point out that while ReliOn may help patients in a pinch, especially those without health insurance, it’s also a formulation (known as 'human' insulin) that came on the market in the 1980s, more than a decade before more refined insulins started to emerge," reported Vox.com.
The cost of insulin nearly doubled from 2012 to 2016, according to the Health Care Cost Institute, and has continued to increase every year.