People living with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin by injection or infusion every day. Insulin is life support – we all need it to stay alive, as much as we need oxygen, water, and food to eat. Without access to insulin, nothing else we do here at Beyond Type 1 matters. Unfortunately (and alarmingly) many people living with T1D in the United States and around the globe do not have reliable access to affordable insulin.

If you live in the United States and you’re struggling to pay for this month’s refill, you’ve come to the right place. If you haven’t already, we urge you to find your personal insulin access Action Plan by inputting your information here.

You can also explore tools + actions you can take to get involved with access advocacy here.

If you need insulin

If you are in emergency need of insulin within the next 7 days, get urgent insulin support here. The below resources address those struggling to access insulin on an ongoing basis. 

Manufacturer Patient Assistance Programs

You are most likely eligible for a PAP if you do not have private insurance, do not qualify for Medicaid, and make less than 400% of the federal poverty level. They provide insulin for $0 out of pocket for up to 12 months for those who qualify.)

If you take Lilly insulin (Humalog, Basaglar, Lyumjev) and are uninsured or have Medicare Part D and meet certain income parameters, you may be eligible for free insulin through the Lilly Cares Foundation Patient Assistance Program, aka Lilly Cares. Call Lilly Cares Foundation at 1-800-545-6962 between 8am and 6pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday or complete the online application here.

If you take Viatris (formerly Mylan) insulin (Semglee) you may qualify for the Mylan Patient Assistance Program. If so, your insulin could be free for up to 12 months. Call the Mylan Customer Relations team at 800-796-9526. They can email, fax, or mail the application to you.

If you take Novo Nordisk insulin (Fiasp, NovoLog, NovoRapid, Levemir, Tresiba) the NovoCare Patient Assistance Program provides free insulin to those who qualify, which is limited to those with no private insurance and who do not qualify for federal insurance programs and who are at or below 400% of the federal poverty level – with a few exceptions. You can download an application here or have an application mailed to you by calling 1-866-310-7549 between 8am and 8pm Eastern, Monday through Friday.

If you take a Sanofi insulin (Admelog, Lantus, Toujeo, Apidra, Soliqua), the Sanofi Patient Connection Program offers eligible patients Sanofi medications at no cost, limited to those who are uninsured, or functionally uninsured, who do not qualify for federal insurance programs and who are at or below 400% of the federal poverty level – with a few exceptions (such as certain instances of those covered by Medicare Part D). Download an application here or have an application mailed to you by calling 1-888-847-4877 between 9am and 8pm Eastern.

Copay Cards + Cash Payment Programs

Copay cards reduce the out-of-pocket cost you pay at the pharmacy exist for most insulins. Unfortunately, copay cards are typically not available for those insured through Medicaid or Medicare. Details on current specific copay programs are below.

If you take Lilly insulin (Humalog, Basaglar, Lyumjev) and do not have health insurance OR are covered by commercial/private insurance (including high deductible health plans), you may be eligible for Lilly’s Insulin Value Copay Card, which provides insulin at $35 per month for each Lilly insulin product. Click here to download your card. If the pharmacy has trouble processing your Lilly Insulin Value Program Savings Card, make sure they have called the pharmacy help line at 1-800-282-4888.

  • If you have private insurance, you may also be eligible for a variety of copay card savings programs that may bring your cost down to as little as $5 to 25 per month, depending on the type of insulin(s) you take. All options can be found by entering your information here to build your personalized insulin access Action Plan.

If you take Mannkind insulin (Afrezza) and your private insurance covers Afrezza, you can sign up for the Savings Program, which may lower copays for those with private insurance.

If you take Viatris (formerly Mylan) insulin (Semglee) you may be eligible to use the Semglee Savings Card. This card may help you pay as little as $0 per 30-day prescription for up to a maximum savings of $75, based on your insurance. Click here to download this Semglee Savings Card. For questions regarding the Semglee Savings Card, call 800-657-7613 between 8am and 8pm Eastern, Monday to Friday.

If you take Novo Nordisk insulin (Fiasp, NovoLog, NovoRapid, Levemir, Tresiba) and have no health insurance, have or are eligible for Medicare Part D, or are covered by commercial/private insurance (including high deductible health plans), you are eligible for Novo Nordisk’s My$99Insulin cash program, which allows for the purchase of up to three vials or two packs of insulin pens, of any combination of insulins from Novo Nordisk Inc., for $99 per month.If you have private insurance, you may also be eligible for a variety of copay card savings programs that may bring your cost down to as little as $5 to 45 per month, depending on the type of insulin(s) you take. All options can be found by entering your information here to build your personalized insulin access Action Plan.

If you take Sanofi insulin (Admelog, Toujeo SoloStar, Toujeo Max SoloStar, Lantus, Insulin Glargine, Apidra) and do not have prescription medication insurance, you are eligible for Sanofi’s Insulins ValYou Savings Program, which offers any combination of Sanofi insulins for $35 per 30 day supply. If you take Sanofi’s insulin+GLP1-RA combination and don’t have insurance, the Soliqua 100/33® (insulin glargine and lixisenatide injection) 100 Units/mL and 33 mcg/mL Cash Offer will allow people to pay as little as $99 per box of pens, with a maximum savings of $700 per box, for up to two boxes of pens for each 30-day supply. This offer is not valid for prescriptions covered by or submitted for reimbursement under Medicaid, Medicare, VA, DOD, TRICARE, or similar federal or state program including any state pharmaceutical assistance program. If you have private insurance, you may also be eligible for a variety of copay card savings programs that may bring your cost down to as little as $0 per month, depending on your insurance and the type of insulin(s) you take. All options can be found by entering your information here to build your personalized insulin access Action Plan.

If you are in emergency need of insulin within the next 7 days, get urgent insulin support here.