I rail on the cost of insulin here all the time. That being said, the 1918 patent really doesn’t apply to modern insulin. Think of insulin like pasta. There’s lots of different types. Most everyone uses a long acting and short acting.
I can go to walmart right now and buy a vial of short acting and long acting for $25 each without a prescription for a month’s supply.
However, my body is too brittle for the short acting stuff that costs $25. It’ll send me into a hypoglycemic episode. My wife has had to call 911 a few times to revive me when I used to use it. I have to use Lispro (humalog). Retail is $43 for a month’s supply.
My long acting insulin is levemir. Retail is $340 for a month’s supply.
If you’re a resilient type 1 and are willing to use older insulins that don’t help control blood sugar really well, the costs are manageable. In my experience as you age, it’s necessary to use more modern alternatives.