I’m a mom with type 1 diabetes. An insulin price cap would change my life.

I’m 36 years old. I have Type 1 diabetes. I’m raising a toddler. And I am so tired.

Every day is a balancing act between staying alive and staying afloat. I’m constantly monitoring my blood sugar, taking insulin, scheduling appointments, and praying I don’t hit a snag, because any delay or disruption in my care could land me in the ER or worse. And even when I do everything right, I’m drowning.

Insulin isn’t some luxury item. Neither are the supplies that keep me stable. But the price tags make it feel like I’m being punished for needing them. I shell out hundreds of dollars a month just to keep my body functioning—and there’s zero margin for error. No extra wiggle room. No safety net. Just the relentless pressure to survive another day.

That level of constant stress—that’s my baseline now. And it’s catching up with me.

It’s a pretty simple story. Insulin prices have gone up in my lifetime. That burden has dictated the course of my entire adult life. It’s stopped me from switching jobs, going back to school, or building financial stability. 

Every other developed country on Earth offers insulin at little to no cost. And yet, people die in this country every year from rationing insulin. That’s not just a tragedy—it’s a human rights violation. Keeping life-saving medicine behind a paywall while it’s free everywhere else is indefensible.

The Biden Administration capped insulin prices for seniors on Medicare through the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. While this is still in place, the insulin cap does not cover millions of individuals. This action demonstrates that it is possible to put people above profits. With the current Trump Administration and a Republican controlled House and Senate, it is not clear if the insulin cap in the Inflation Reduction Act will remain. It is incumbent upon states to address this issue so residents are not forced to ration medication or simply go without this life-saving drug.

Here in Nevada, something good is happening—finally.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager introduced a bill in the Legislature to cap insulin prices for individuals on private insurance at the state level. And that gives me hope again. It tells me that someone is listening and understands that this isn’t about handouts—it’s about survival. About moms like me getting a chance to live long enough to raise our kids.

I don’t want Hudson to grow up without his mom because insulin became too expensive. I don’t want to become another headline about a woman who died young because the system made her choose between her health and her bills.

We need insulin caps. We need full coverage for diabetes care—supplies, appointments, everything. We need a healthcare system that doesn’t crush people who are doing everything right but still can’t afford to survive.

I’m not asking for luxury. I’m asking to stay alive.

Yeager’s bill gives me hope that Nevada might lead the way where the federal government has failed. That maybe, just maybe, moms like me won’t have to carry this weight alone anymore.