Presumably your friend wants a particular brand of insulin, not the insulins that Medicaid covers because they are the most cost effective?

Medicaid negotiates with manufacturers to get the best price. When they are successful in securing a low price, they preferentially cover them.

Usually if the doctor can show why those brands aren’t good enough, Medicaid will cover alternatives that aren’t covered, but it can be a lot of work for the doctor.

> Presumably your friend wants a particular brand of insulin, not the insulins that Medicaid covers because they are the most cost effective?

I don't think they're picky about brand, I seem to recall that they didn't know about the cheap insulin at Fred Meyer when their Medicaid stopped covering what they were getting before. I think that insulin does work for them.