I was reading the FUDiabetes forums yesterday and my curiosity peaked when I saw a discussion on buying insulin from the Amazon Pharmacy. I recently refilled my insulin and the list price was over $1000.

I searched for insulin in the Amazon pharmacy, and the best deal I found was: Generic Humalog insulin (Insulin Lispro) selling at $39.10 a vial as the cash price without insurance. (Note: It’s possible that the price has changed since this article was written, but I think you can follow that link and see the current price for Amazon prime members. There is also an additional membership fee.)

This is very exciting news because Humalog (Insulin Lispro) is one of the types of insulin that I can use in my pump. The other one is Novolog. For me, Novolog and Humalog are interchangeable. I don’t notice any difference. Back when I used insulin pens, my insurance switched me from Humalog to Novolog, and I wrote a blog post about Novolog vs Humalog Insulin.

I did a bit of research, and learned that Lilly announced this Generic Humalog in March, 2019, but it did not become widely available in United States pharmacies until May, 2022. I think the best article about this is BeyondType1’s story Half-Price Generic of Humalog Insulin Launched by Lilly.

Need help affording insulin?

If you are in the United States and need help with getting insulin, I recommend GetInsulin.org for help with both urgent and long term insulin needs.

Walmart may have lower cost Novolog

As I mentioned above, for me, Novolog and Humalog are the two types of insulin that I can use in my insulin pump. Historically, Walmart has provided other types of insulin for reduced cost, but these other types of insulin don’t work the same way.

However, recently Walmart has announced ReliOn NovoLog! A vial is being advertised at $72.88 currently. This is more than the Amazon price for the Generic Humalog, but much cheaper than the normal list price for Novolog. It also is more accessible (if available) because it doesn’t require a membership and it also doesn’t have the additional wait time due to shipping times.

Walmart’s ReliOn Novolog is essentially a store brand. It was announced in June, 2021. They also sell ReliOn branded glucose meters which have lower cost glucose test trips.