“When I picked up my first insulin prescription, it cost me $684. I couldn’t afford that — most Texans can’t either,” Talarico, who has Type I diabetes, says in the 30-second ad, which is running on TV statewide and in major media markets through election day on March 3. “So when I got to the Texas House, I took on Big Pharma and capped insulin at $25 a month.”

The ad drew backlash last week from Republicans including Texas GOP Chair Abraham George, who demanded Talarico “stop misleading Texas voters by falsely claiming credit for Republican-led legislation.” Several GOP elected officials piled on to amplify the attack.

“Let’s set the record straight about how the price of insulin was lowered for Texans,” state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham and chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, posted on social media. “The truth is that you did not author the bill that passed in 2021.”

In her post, Kolkhorst noted she was the author of Senate Bill 827, the 2021 legislation that set a $25 cap on out-of-pocket costs for a 30-day supply of insulin for those on state-regulated health plans. She also credited former Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, and Rep. Tom Oliverson, R-Cypress and then-chair of the House Insurance Committee, for the bill’s passage in the lower chamber.

🔥 🔥 In a statement, Talarico spokesperson JT Ennis said Talarico was “the first legislator to introduce a bill to cap monthly insulin prices in Texas, personally went desk to desk to build bipartisan support for the effort, and his viral diabetes story drew the national attention needed to get it passed.” 🔥 🔥

“Any victory this big can’t be achieved alone, and James has praised his colleagues for their work — but any assertion that he wasn’t instrumental to passing this bill is a flat-out lie,” Ennis said.