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Michigan Attorney General hopes to reopen investigation into Eli Lilly's prices for insulin

Sean Morrow, More Perfect Union
/
Twitter
Eli Lilly announced its insulin prices would be capped at $35 a month in May, 2023. That's after a November, 2022 fake tweet, resulting in financial damage and public humiliation for both Twitter and Eli Lilly, which announced on behalf of the company that "insulin is free now." Eli Lilly also subsequently adopted the Twitter handle used in the fake tweet.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wants to reopen an investigation into insulin prices charged by Eli Lilly and Company.

More than 900 thousand people in Michigan have been diagnosed with diabetes according to the American Diabetes Association. Nessel says they shouldn't have to choose between life-saving medicine or food or rent.

Nessel is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to reverse a decision that prevented her from continuing an investigation she launched last year into Eli Lilly's insulin pricing practices under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.

Nessel said the court decisions are not supported by a plain reading of the law.

"The Michigan Court of Appeals correctly concluded that the Attorney General's claims must be dismissed under long-settled law," the company said.

The company also said the Attorney General ignored that Lilly was the first and still only company to cap what people pay at $35 per month for its insulin products.

The announcement came months after a November, 2022 tweet from an account purporting to be Eli Lilly's official account, which said "insulin is free now." That tweet resulted in financial damage and public ridicule against both Twitter and Eli Lilly.

Eli Lilly also subsequently adopted the Twitter handle used in the fake tweet.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.
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