Rep. Patti Minter named Kentucky Health Policy Hero by Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky for her work to improve access to insulin for Kentuckians with diabetes
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (June 24, 2022) – The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky today named Representative Patti Minter, (D) Bowling Green, a Kentucky Health Policy Hero. The award honors Rep. Minter’s work to improve access to insulin and for Kentuckians with diabetes.
“Rep. Minter is steadfast in her support of policies that will remove the costly burden of insulin and other supplies for people with diabetes across the commonwealth,” said Ben Chandler, president and CEO, Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “Rep. Minter has been successful in making the lives of people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes better by ensuring them affordable access to this critical, life-saving drug.”
Rep. Minter and Rep. Danny Bentley, (R) Greenup 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 honored to be recognized as a Kentucky Health Policy Hero by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky,” Minter said. “Access to insulin is a basic human right. This is not a republican or a democrat issue, it’s a Kentucky issue. I am proud to have worked with lawmakers on both sides to make a difference in what is truly a life-or-death situation for a half-million Kentuckians.”
Minter and Bentley 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. Bentley a Kentucky Health Policy Hero award for his 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.