The state of the American healthcare system must be a joke to other countries, considering how much the average taxpayer has to make just to afford life-saving medication. Unfortunately, the people who have it the worst are those with diabetes, seeing as vials of insulin can cost upwards of $100 – $1,000. A California woman took to TikTok to share her experience after finding it incredibly challenging to find insulin at any of her nearby Walgreens. It isn’t as though this is a life-and-death situation for her. Right?
The above video was posted to the TikTok account @my5thaccountprobably, which belongs to California content creator Campbell Smith. Her videos are primarily to document her journey as someone with type one diabetes as well as overwhelming acne. In this particular video, she talks about how the American healthcare system is a joke because of how difficult it is to have her prescription for insulin refilled.
She claims to have sent the insulin prescription that her doctor gave her to four different Walgreens, which each denied having in stock. This then sent Campbell down different avenues that blamed the doctor or the pharmacy, but never got to the root of the issue. She even claims that she is unable to receive any glucose monitors until January first because, well, that’s just how it works.
Many commenters jumped into the replies to share similar stories that also happened to them, with one of the top comments straight up saying, “when diabetics come into my er simply because they don’t have insulin i always understand. thats an emergency in our eyes. the lack of urgency from the medical staff is alarming. keep us updated queen.”
California Woman Finds Extreme Difficulty in Getting Diabetes Medication
Other commenters were far more upset at the situation, especially since not getting your insulin as a diabetic can lead to fatal consequences. Another top comment couldn’t have said it any better, saying, “say a dead customer isn’t a paying one and see how fast it’s refilled.”
In an update, Campbell explains that she thinks the video might have reached Walgreens headquarters because she received a notification that her prescriptions would be filled immediately for pickup tomorrow. It’s likely because Campbell has thousands of followers on her account, though it is infuriating to think about what happens to those who do not have a social platform. Fortunately, she replies to a comment in that vein with, “i know it breaks my heart i’m going to try to change that.”
