Rep. Danny Bentley named Kentucky Health Policy Hero by Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky for his work to improve access to insulin for Kentuckians with diabetes
RUSSELL, Ky. (June 24, 2022) – The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky today named Representative Danny Bentley, (R) Greenup County, a Kentucky Health Policy Hero. The award honors Rep. Bentley’s work to improve access to insulin and for Kentuckians with diabetes.
“Rep. Bentley has long been a champion for improving the lives of Kentuckians living with diabetes,” said Ben Chandler, president and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “His support of policies that reduce the costly burden of diabetes supplies, including capping the monthly cost of the life-saving drug insulin, is making a difference for Kentuckians with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who need access to this critical, life-saving drug.”
Rep. Bentley and Rep. Patti Minter, (D) Warren County, co-sponsored a bill that passed in 2021 and provides a $30 per month cap on insulin for people on state-regulated health care plans.
“I am humbled by this award and appreciate the service to the Commonwealth provided by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky,” Bentley said. “As a rural health care provider, I have seen the impact declining access to health care has had on my community. My work as a legislator is aimed at reversing that decline. Through public policy changes, we can help create opportunities for providers who want to practice medicine but enjoy the quality of life our rural communities provide.”
Bentley and Minter also sponsored legislation in 2022 that called for programs to ensure emergency access to insulin and continuing access to insulin, as well as implement a price cap on diabetes-related supplies, though these bills were not successful.
While a vial of insulin costs about $6 to produce, some patients pay as much as $300 per month for a supply. According to America’s Health Rankings, 13 percent of Kentuckians have diabetes, ranking 42nd among states. Kentucky Public Health calls the situation a public health epidemic, reporting 17 percent of people living in Appalachia have diabetes, compared to 12 percent in non-Appalachian counties. Additionally, Kentucky has the fourth highest diabetes-related death rate in the country. In 2017, diabetes cost Kentucky $5.16 billion in total medical expenditures, lost work, and wages.
The Foundation also awarded Rep. Minter a Kentucky Health Policy Hero award for her work on this front. In 2020, Rep. Jerry Miller, (R) Louisville, Rep. Kim Moser, (R) Taylor Mill, and Sen. Ralph Alvarado, (R) Winchester, were honored as Kentucky Health Policy Heroes for their work in 2019 and 2020 on policies that supported reducing tobacco use in the Commonwealth. These efforts included increasing taxes on cigarettes, establishing a tax on e-cigarettes, banning the use of tobacco and e-cigarette products on school district-owned properties, and raising the legal age to buy tobacco and e-cigarette products to 21 years.