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California will begin making its own affordable insulin as part of an effort to combat high prices for a life-saving drug that has been made unaffordable for some Americans living with diabetes, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced Thursday.
Newsom said in a video posted on Twitter that $100 million of the state budget he recently signed into law for 2022-2023 will be allocated to California to “negotiate and manufacture our own insulin at a lower cost, close to to cost, and make it affordable for everyone.” Half of the $100 million will go toward developing “low-cost” insulin, Newsom said. The other $50 million will go toward an insulin production facility in the state that will ” provide new, high-paying jobs and a stronger supply chain for the drug.”
“California is going to make its own insulin,” Newsom said in the video. “Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the price of insulin. Many Americans experience out-of-pocket costs of between $300 and $500 per month for this life-saving drug. Now California is taking matters into its own hands.
It is not clear when government insulin will be available or how much it will cost. A spokesman for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Friday.
California will produce its own insulin.
It’s simple. People shouldn’t go into debt to get life-saving drugs. pic.twitter.com/yB4mpGjtQO
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 7, 2022
The announcement from California comes as top senators in Congress recently introduced a bipartisan bill to curb the high cost of insulin, which has been condemned for years by advocates, doctors and President Biden. The bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (DN.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) last month would put a $35 monthly cap on the cost of insulin for patients with private insurance as well as those enrolled in Medicare, although it does not provide the same protections of the uninsured. The bill also seeks to make insulin more affordable by eliminating previous authorization requirements that can force patients to jump hurdles to get insurers to help pay for drugs.
Senators unveil bipartisan plan to cap insulin prices
Despite a promise by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (DN.Y.) to bring the insulin pricing bill up for a vote, the legislation faces difficulty getting through the House because some Republicans have previously criticized the idea of a cap of $35 as a price control.
More than 37 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is about 11 percent of the U.S. population. Although more than 7 million Americans with diabetes depend on insulin every day, some Americans are struggling to keep up with rising prices for the drug, according to Yale researchers.
Because diabetics typically use two or three vials of insulin a month, costs can reach more than $6,000 a year for people without insurance, insufficient coverage, or high deductibles. Some of the list prices for the drug can range from $125 to more than $500. Humalog, a brand-name insulin drug that cost about $21 a vial when Eli Lilly introduced it in 1996, late last year was listed for about $275 in the United States.
A 2019 study published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine found that the high cost of the drug caused approximately 1 in 4 people with diabetes to miss doses or rations they took. Black, Hispanic and Native American patients, who are less likely to have insurance or the level of insurance to cover the prices, are disproportionately affected by high costs, research shows.
California’s push to make its own insulin isn’t the first time a state or group has tried to make the drug in response to costs.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D-G) signed legislation in 2019 to cap insulin copayments at $100 per month for those patients with private insurance. In response to high costs this year, Civica Rx, the nonprofit company for a consortium of major U.S. hospitals, said in March it plans to make and sell generic versions of insulin for no more than $30 a vial and $55 for five pens cartridges. Civica Rx said it expects to begin selling insulin in 2024, after it completes construction of a 140,000-square-foot pharmaceutical plant in Petersburg, Va. — and if it wins a license from the Food and Drug Administration.
A group of hospitals has a plan to circumvent Congress’s refusal to lower insulin prices
Newsom signed the $308 billion state budget into law on June 30. The budget included a $17 billion aid package to give “inflation relief” checks of up to $1,050 to residents to address concerns about the nation’s highest average gas prices. The plan would also suspend California’s diesel sales tax and provide additional assistance to residents who need help with rent and utility bills, according to lawmakers.
California has the highest number of new diabetes cases of any state, according to the governor’s office. Ethnic minorities, the elderly, men and the poor are most affected by diabetes in California, according to the state.
The governor said in a news release last week that the budget, investing $100 million in insulin, is in place to “develop and manufacture low-cost biosimilar insulin products to increase the availability and affordability of insulin in California.”
“In California, we know that people shouldn’t have to go into debt to get life-saving drugs,” Newsom said in the video.
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