Friends and family of a 21-year-old diabetic patient said Jesimya David Scherer-Radcliff died as a result of rationing insulin, according to Minnesota news station KARE 11.
"The cost of insulin is ridiculous. It is hard for me to even go in there and look at his casket. He is gone now, David Radcliff, the patient's father, told the news station. "I just think this country is backward, and I am a veteran. I have seen other countries and how they operate."
Mr. Scherer-Radcliff's death is not an isolated incident, according to the report.
Nicole Smith-Holt, an advocate for affordable insulin, said she lost her son Alec at age 26 from rationing insulin. Ms. Smith-Holt said he died trying to ration his insulin one month after losing healthcare coverage.
"We lost another Type 1 diabetic due to insulin rationing," she told KARE 11."My son and Jesimya, they were murdered. They were killed by Big Pharma. The cause of death should actually be on their death certificates — corporate greed."
The high cost of insulin has been a growing concern in the U.S. Policymakers have called on Big Pharma to defend their price increases for insulin that have "put it out of reach for many patients."
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