HOBBIES TO DIVE INTO DURING VACATION RELAX AND ENJOY Have you ever vacationed somewhere sensationally beautiful and full of things to explore, only to spend an inordinate amount of time in the hotel room or lounging around at a cafe? We can only do so much sightseeing. But you can enhance your time off, even while taking it easy. From cooking new foods to learning a new language, here are three hobbies to try while on vacation! BON APPÉTIT One of the main draws of any vacation is the food. Think of all of the cities and countries synonymous with some form of cuisine. New Orleans has the po’boy. Spain has paella. Scotland has haggis. If you want to experience the culture of a region in a unique way, take a cooking class! You can learn an authentic recipe and take it home with you to relive the magic all over again. PAINT A PRETTY PICTURE Painting from an actual, in-person reference rather than a printed picture is exciting. If you are headed somewhere with spectacular
views, pack a canvas and painting supplies. Picking up painting can make any vacation more rewarding.
LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE Me gusta pollo picante. Impressed? With a few lessons, you, too, can say, “I like spicy chicken” in Spanish or any other language. Language learning apps, like Duolingo, LingQ, and Babbel, can help you pick up the basics quickly and easily. Once you know some vocabulary, it’s best to improve your fluency in another language by immersing yourself in it. Head somewhere new and practice your craft! ¡El mundo es tu ostra!
THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE OF INSULIN PRICES: WHAT’S THE DEAL?
Insulin is a vital medicine for people with diabetes, but the cost has been on a wild ride in recent years. Buckle up as we explore why insulin prices have soared and what’s being done to fix it. THE COST OF INSULIN: A PRICEY JOURNEY To understand how crazy insulin prices have gotten, let’s look at the price of one popular type of insulin called Humalog. Here’s a chart showing how the price of Humalog changed from 2004 to 2024:
These middlemen negotiate prices between drug makers, insurance companies, and others. They get discounts and rebates from drug companies, but guess what? Often, patients still have to pay the full price. It’s a bit like getting a coupon for a sale but still paying the regular price because of complicated rules. THE GOOD NEWS: PRICES ARE COMING DOWN Here’s a silver lining: In March 2023, Eli Lilly, the company that makes Humalog, announced that it would cut prices by 70% by the end of 2023. This means the price of a 10 mL vial of Humalog is expected to drop to around $66.40. Plus, Eli Lilly plans to cap out-of-pocket patient costs at $35 per month. That’s a significant relief for many people who rely on insulin. WHAT’S NEXT? While these changes are promising, it’s still unclear how they’ll be rolled out and whether there will be any other changes in costs. Patients hope for more transparency to understand precisely what they’re paying for and why. So, there you have it — a quick look at how insulin prices have soared and how they’re finally coming back down. Stay tuned for more updates, and remember, even in medicine, things can sometimes take a turn for the better!
YEAR PRICE FOR 10 ML HUMALOG: 2004 — $56 2005 — $65 2006 — $70 2007 — $77 2008 — $81 2009 — $93 2010 — $100 2011 — $116 2012 — $130 2013 — $140 2014 — $168 2015 — $223 2016 — $255 2017 — $275
2018 — $275 2019 — $275 2020 — $275 2021 — $275 2022 — $275 2023 — $274 2024 — $66
When Humalog was first introduced in 1996, a 10 mL vial cost only $21.23, but the price skyrocketed over the years. By 2016, it had climbed to $255! That’s a whopping 264% increase in just a decade! WHY DID THE PRICES GO UP? So, what’s behind the considerable price jump? The answer involves behind-the-scenes stuff with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).
2 • OmahaInsuranceSolutions.com
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