The major cost for insulin is the fact that current product requires refrigeration and the product can not be made at home. Two technologies / efforts will significantly change that model.
1) there is an opensource effort to enable people to manufacture insulin on their own. It appears that the cost of self manufacture will be less than $30 per month.
2) Oramed is in the clinical trial phase of a oral form / pill for insulin.
We don’t know what type of Diabetes she even had, I or II. That is important also.
Glimepiride is a pill that is reasonable in cost.
I buy my insulin at $25 per vial at Walmart. No script, no insurance.