"Why is Narcan free to a dope addict but my insulin is $750 a month?" asks an online meme that has since gone viral. "Humalog cost $21 a vial in 1996 and now that same insulin is $375" claims another meme designed to call for price regulations. While these statements do have some truth behind them, on the whole, they are bumper sticker slogans designed to elicit emotional responses rather than encourage the reader to critically examine what could be the reasons for the price increases.

While insulin is manufactured by large drug companies, it is very different from other medicines that now have cheaper generic forms because it is classified as a biological product instead of a chemical one.

There are many reasons and theories on why the costs have continued to rise much faster than inflation has in the past twenty years.