Matt Gaetz’s inaccurate diagnosis of rising insulin costs

Published April 30, 2022

Salon quoted Paresh Dandona, MD/PhD, SUNY Distinguished Professor in the Department of Medicine, in an article on Rep. Matt Gaetz’s comments on the rising costs of insulin. Gaetz, who voted against a bill that would cap insulin costs at $35 per month, argued for weight loss as a potential solution rather than capping drug prices. Alleviating and treating diabetes is not as simple as eating healthier and exercising more, said Dandona. Those factors may “help control diabetes and it may reduce the insulin dose, but it doesn't eliminate its use,” he said. “To expect that somehow magically insulin requirements will vanish if patients lose weight is really talking in cuckoo land.”