SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) - A bill to cap the price of insulin in Illinois has passed a state Senate committee. 

Senate Bill 667 moved through the Senate Insurance Committee on Monday. It would set a limit of $100 per month on co-payments for insulin for all patients, no matter what supply they need. It would apply only to commercial insurance plans that Illinois regulates. 

The vote on the issue was 15-3-1. 

"For over a million Illinois residents, insulin is an absolute necessity," said State Sen. Andy Manar (D-Bunker Hill), who sponsors the bill. "Without it, they will die. Pharmaceutical companies are leveraging that fact in order to maximize profits. It's time we hold them accountable." 

About 1.3 million adults in Illinois have diabetes, according to Illinois Department of Public Health data. A Yale School of Medicine study said one in four people with diabetes must ration insulin because of soaring prices. 

Illinois would be the second state in the U.S. to cap insulin prices if the bill becomes law. 

Manar expects to introduce the bill to the full Senate in the final week of October.