California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday that his state will produce its own “low-cost” insulin, saying, “People shouldn’t have to go into debt to get life-saving drugs.”
Newsom said the state budget he recently signed included $100 million for California to “contract and make [its] have insulin at a cheaper price close to cost and make it available to everyone.”
He said $50 million of that budget would go toward developing the low-cost insulin, while an additional $50 million would go toward a California-based manufacturing facility for the drug, which Newsom said “will provide new, high-paying jobs and a stronger chain for deliveries.”
Newsom also noted in his announcement that he signed an executive order on his first day in office to put California on the path to creating its own prescription drugs, touting that “now it’s happening.”
“Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin,” Newsom said, going on to say that “many Americans are experiencing out-of-pocket costs ranging from $300 to $500 per month for this life-saving drug.”
The action comes amid a push on Capitol Hill to curb insulin costs. A bipartisan insulin bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) is expected to be voted on later this month.
Collins urged his fellow Republicans to support the bill. But some Republicans rejected the measure, worried it would be too expensive or interfere too much with the free market.
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On Wednesday, Senate Democrats removed a provision in a separate drug pricing bill to cap patients’ insulin costs at $35 a month, a goal that had been a high selling point for Democrats, including President Biden, for their economic package.
Providing insulin is also part of the bipartisan insulin bill from Shaheen and Collins, which will require the support of at least 10 Republican senators to clear a filibuster and pass.
By contrast, the Democrat-only drug pricing measure is part of Biden’s economic package, which uses a process known as reconciliation to bypass the GOP, meaning it can pass with just 50 Democratic votes.
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