James Talarico says near-fatal walk in 2014 shaped his fight over insulin prices

James Talarico arrived in Washington this month as the first Democrat to claim a Texas Senate seat since 1988. His campaign narrative centers on a medical crisis that occurred a decade earlier, one he says fundamentally altered his approach to healthcare policy.

When Talarico was 28 and running for the Texas House of Representatives, he attempted to walk the entire 25-mile length of his district to meet voters. Midway through the trek, he experienced nausea and fatigue, vomiting twice. He attributed the symptoms to dehydration and finished the walk. Upon returning home, he slept for 36 hours before his family rushed him to an emergency room.

Hospital staff diagnosed him with Type 1 diabetes after a blood sugar test. Talarico stated he was suffering from diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that can lead to a coma or death without insulin. He recalled paying $684 out of pocket for his first 30-day supply of insulin at a pharmacy shortly after leaving the intensive care unit. He said he did not have that cash on hand and paid using a credit card.

Talarico links that personal financial strain to the legislation he championed as a state lawmaker. He helped pass laws that capped insulin copays at $25 per month and authorized the state to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

Now in the U.S. Senate, he intends to extend those efforts to the national level. In a message provided by his campaign, he criticized Republican proposals to reduce funding for Medicaid and Medicare.