BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO/KVRR) – A bipartisan bill in the North Dakota Senate would require insurance companies to cap insulin costs at $25 a month.
A Hillsboro woman whose daughter has type-1 diabetes is fighting for it to pass.
“It’s a life-threatening disease, and the only thing that they need to survive is insulin as well as everything else like the rest of us, but it’s like breathing air. If air would cost you, what would you pay for the cost to breathe?” Angela Kritzberger said.
Kritzberger’s daughter Nina is 14 years old and was diagnosed with type-1 diabetes at seven.
“She’s been the only one with it in our school system. So, it’s something that nobody else really understands, which is hard when you’re a kid,” Kritzberger said.
Kritzberger’s health plan made her pay a $1,000 deductible, which only lasted three weeks. She said in the last two years she paid $40,000 a year for premiums, deductibles, and co-insurance as a self-employed farmer in Hillsboro. Kritzberger is proud of Nina and wants to make sure she has a successful life.
“I don’t want to have to pass legislation to remember our daughter. I want her to be an active part of this society and contribute to it and be able to continue to grow and thrive. She’s my little hero,” Kritzberger said.
The bill was introduced by Democratic State Senator Tim Mathern of Fargo and Republican State Senator Dick Dever of Bismarck.
Nina has delivered a letter to Gov. Doug Burgum, asking him to support the bill. Kritzberger has also gone to Bismarck to testify to the Senate Human Services Committee.
“Affordable access to necessary lifesaving medicines and supplies should be the minimum standard of care,” Kritzberger said.
22 states, including Minnesota, have passed laws capping out-of-pocket insulin costs.
