(GLEN COVE, N.Y). – Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D – Glen Cove) applauded a provision in the recently passed New York State FY 25 budget that bans insurance co-pays for insulin for any New Yorker on a state-regulated health insurance plan. The move is being hailed as “the most expansive prohibition against insulin cost-sharing in the country.”
“No family should ever be faced with struggling to pay for a life-saving medication, but that is far too frequently a dilemma faced at kitchen tables across Nassau County and America,” Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton said. “As a mother of a child living with diabetes, I see first-hand how proper treatment opens doors to a fulfilling and long life. Until we find a cure, we must make effective treatment accessible to as many people as possible, and I applaud Governor Hochul for her leadership on this vital public health issue.”
The issue hits especially close to home for Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton, whose daughter Amanda was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 3. Since that time, Minority Leader DeRiggi-Whitton has become a Diabetes Research Institute Long Island board member and co-chair of the Cooking for a Cure fundraiser, which has helped to raise over $1 million toward the pursuit of a cure in its 18 editions. The most recent edition, held on April 10 in Bayville, raised over $45,000.