Employees at large companies and national corporations should ask their employer about low- or zero-cost insulin benefits, which some insurers like Blue Cross Blue Shield will provide next year to members who work at small companies or buy health coverage themselves. Lin Nelson with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota told a legislative panel that for so-called “self-insured” companies which set their own health benefits, “Blue Cross has the ability to administer a similar insulin benefit to those members if they ask for us to do that.”
Democratic Representative Diane Loeffler from Minneapolis says employees at large corporations should tell their H-R department, “The insurer we’ve been with is offering an affordable option for insulin coverage, and I hope you will step up and take that when you decide on our benefit package for next year.”
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota says starting January 1st, 260-thousand of its members will be able to obtain insulin with zero cost-sharing. Several other insurers have significantly reduced co-pays.