Walmart Analog Insulin to Streamline Diabetes Care Management

Walmart recently announced the first-ever private brand analog insulin to revolutionize diabetes care management and offer customers significant price savings without compromising overall quality. 

The ReliOn NovoLog Insulin, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, controls high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. Customers will need a prescription to purchase the products and should talk with their doctor regarding their diabetes management.

Through Walmart’s private ReliOn brand, the offering includes analog insulin visits ($72.88) and FlexPen ($85.88). The products are expected to save customers nearly 58 to 78 percent off the cash price of branded analog insulin products.

The products introduce savings of up to $101 per branded vial or $251 per package of branded FlexPens, a Walmart spokesperson explained. 

“We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions. We also know this is a condition that disproportionately impacts underserved populations,” Cheryl Pegus, MD, executive vice president of Walmart Health & Wellness, said in the announcement. 

“With ReliOn NovoLog insulin, we’re adding a high-quality medication for diabetes to the already affordable ReliOn line of products and continuing our commitment to improve access and lowering cost of care,” Pegus continued. 

ReliOn™ NovoLog® Insulin is currently available in Walmart pharmacies and will be available at Sam’s Club pharmacies across the US in mid-July. 

The offering adds to Walmart’s history of innovative solutions that increase access to quality, affordable healthcare resources, including the $4 generic prescription program launched over a decade ago. 

Diabetes often comes with high medical costs, estimated at around $9,601 per person annually. On average, individuals with diabetes have medical expenditures nearly 2.3 times higher than what expenditures would be in the absence of diabetes. 

An October 2020 RAND Corporation study found that insulin prices are more than eight times higher in the US than in 32 comparable, high-income nations combined.

Researchers found that the overall average US manufacturer price per standard unit across all insulins was $98.70 compared to $6.94 in Australia, $12.00 in Canada, and $7.52 in the UK.

For rapid-acting insulins, the US reported an average price of $111.39 per standard unit versus $8.19 in non-US countries. And for intermediate-acting insulins, the US reported an average price of $73.56 per standard unit versus $5.95 in non-US countries.