A Minnesota mom is pushing for lower insulin prices, saying her 26-year-old son died because he couldn't afford the medication.

Nicole Smith-Holt told CBS News in a report published Friday that her son, Alec, had begun rationing his insulin after aging out of his parents' insurance plan. Alec, a Type 1 diabetic, was dependent on insulin and needed to take a proper dosage of it each day to survive. But the change meant his monthly cost for the drug and necessary supplies increased to $1,300, Smith-Holt said. He simply couldn't cover the cost, his mom said.

"My son died because he could not afford his insulin," Smith-Holt told CBS, explaining that she's now an advocate for lower prices who is "fighting for the lives of others."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports more than 30 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, with about 5 percent diagnosed as Type 1. Researchers have not found a cure, and, despite no major changes to the drug, insulin prices have risen drastically. Price hikes have come despite a pledge from President Donald Trump to fight drug costs.

A previously published investigation from the Associated Press, which also reported Smith-Holt's story, found price increases are far more common than price cuts. Drugmakers hiked the price of drugs 96 times for each cut in the first seven months of 2018, the AP reported.

The skyrocketing cost of insulin and other life-saving drugs has been the focus of state- and federal-level debate.

In Minnesota, Attorney General Lori Swanson said the state is pursuing legal action against three major insulin companies, and the Food and Drug Administration has said it plans to regulate insulin differently to encourage price competition.