Edit: Wait. Novo Nordisk, their producer, is one of the established insulin vendors. Why are they helping to reduce prices?
Also, does anyone have an estimate of how high the margins still are?
https://divabetic.org/2017/06/08/transparent-pricing-works-h...
They fear a Congressional inquiry and federal price caps. Normally, you'd expect a new medicine entering the market to get cheaper as the production ramps up, yet it's gone the opposite direction, even after the patent has expired.
The big insulin makers like Novo and Lilly have been bearing the brunt of the PR disaster that is drug pricing, but reaping little of the benefit, as, according to them, their revenue per unit has barely budged in decades. Increased costs are to appease the insurance companies/PBM middle men (because due to the rebate system, they don't actually have to pay those increased costs). Both Novo and Lilly have attempted ways to cut out the middle men, with reduced payment programs, like the one mentioned in the article, or through "savings cards". However insurance companies have gone out of their way to combat these, limiting their effectiveness.
I think what's notable here is that Walmart actually has enough corporate muscle to allow a pairing with the pharma companies that the insurance companies will struggle to combat.
source?