NEWSOM SAYS CALIFORNIA WILL PRODUCE ITS OWN ‘LOW-COST’ INSULIN 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Thursday that his state will be producing its own “low-cost” insulin, saying, “People should not go into debt to get lifesaving medication.”

 

Newsom said that the state budget he recently signed includes $100 million for California to “contract and make [its] own insulin at a cheaper price, close to at cost, and to make it available to all.”

 

The California governor said $50 million of that budget will go to the development of the low-cost insulin, while the additional $50 million will go toward a California-based manufacturing facility for the drug, which Newsom claims “will provide new, high-paying jobs and a stronger supply chain.”

 

“Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin,” Newsom stated, going on to say that “many Americans experience out-of-pocket costs ranging anywhere from $300 to $500 per month for this lifesaving drug.”

 

The action comes amid a push on Capitol Hill to cap insulin costs. A bipartisan insulin bill from Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) is expected to be voted on as soon as this month.