By Tim Pugmire

MPR News/90.1 FM

DFL Gov. Tim Walz said Wednesday he is willing to call a special legislative session to help diabetics struggling to afford insulin but said lawmakers must first reach agreement on how to do it.

The cost of the life-saving medicine has spiked in recent years, and Walz held a round table meeting Wednesday with diabetics, family members and others to hear their concerns.

Despite broad support among state lawmakers, a measure to establish an emergency insulin program was left out of this year’s budget bills. The program would have provided insulin to people who couldn’t afford it, paid for by a fee on drug makers.

Walz said drug companies’ unwillingness to pay for the proposed emergency insulin program has been a big hurdle. But he believes legislative leaders can overcome that resistance and put together a bill that he will sign.

“Let’s get the leadership to put the right people in the room. Let’s work out where the sticking points are,” he said. “At that point in time, if we’re comfortable that they’re there and we’re comfortable with the advocacy groups that the piece of legislation that is ready to be bought forward is relatively complete, then we will call them back.”

The legislation that failed to cross the finish line was known as the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act, named for a young man who had no insurance and died in 2017 while rationing his insulin. His mother, Nicole Smith-Holt, has been working since then to make insulin more affordable. She told Walz and others at the roundtable discussion that Alec couldn’t afford the drug he needed.

“Being the proud 26-year-old, trying to be an independent young man, he didn’t call mom and dad for help. He thought maybe I can take a little less insulin, maybe I can miss a dose, maybe I can change my diet, maybe I can stretch this out until payday,” Smith-Holt said. “Unfortunately, his body was found three days prior to that payday.”

Many diabetics are struggling with the high cost of insulin. Quinn Nystrom of the group Minnesota Insulin for All said she paid $20 a vial 20 years ago. Nystrom said the cost today is about $400 a vial.

“This is my life support. This is not an optional medication. This is not Tylenol. This is not ‘I can do this every other day.’ That’s not an option for people with diabetes. That’s something we need to be very clear on here. If I don’t have this, I’m dead.”