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Insulin excuses should be made in public

Gov.Tim Walz on Monday called on legislators to hold public hearings on their conflicting plans to make insulin more affordable. They’ve been holding closed-door negotiations over the past month with no resolution on how to pay for their plans to help those diabetics who can’t afford their insulin.

Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature have plans that would do the same thing — put insulin in the hands of diabetics who can’t afford the medicine that has skyrocketed in price in recent years. House Democrats would charge fees to the insulin makers to pay for a 90-day emergency supply. Republicans, who see a fee on insulin makers as a tax, would require insulin makers to provide free insulin through doctors offices. The devil, as usual, is in the details of these plans — who would be eligible, how much their income level would be, who would decide who is qualified, and so on.

Insulin activists want to see this issue solved quickly. Gov. Walz is ready to call a special session if the two parties can agree to a single plan.

The two sides have had 30 days to negotiate. Unless they can come up with a compromise in short order, we think they should have to hold public hearings to explain to the people what is holding them up.

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