“Nothing epitomizes market failure more than the cost of insulin,” the governor said in a video posted on Twitter, “Many Americans face costs of three hundred to five hundred dollars a month for this life-saving drug. “ With a budget of $100 million, California plans to “contract out and make our own insulin at a cheaper price, close to cost, and make it available to everyone,” Newsom said. It’s unclear how expensive California’s insulin will be or when the lower-cost drugs will be available. Insulin in the US costs almost $100 per unit, on average. That’s nearly four times the price in Chile, which has the second-highest prices among the 34 countries analyzed by the nonprofit Rand Corporation, at less than $25 per unit. Currently, four out of five Americans who need insulin have been charged thousands of dollars on a credit card to pay for the drug, according to a recent survey commissioned by the health care organization CharityRx. The average debt among all survey participants was $9,000. The California program will allocate $50 million to develop cheaper insulin products and $50 million to an insulin manufacturing facility in the state, Newsom said, adding that the facility “will provide new, high-quality jobs and a stronger supply chain for medicines. “ It is unclear whether any other states plan to follow suit. In March, the US House of Representatives passed the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which caps out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 a month for Americans with private health insurance and the Medicare prescription drug benefit. The bill has yet to pass the Senate. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 37.3 million people in America have diabetes. California has a particularly high rate of new diabetes cases — mostly affecting minorities, the elderly, men and low-income people, according to the governor’s office. “California is now taking matters into our own hands,” Newsom said. “Because in California, we know that people shouldn’t be charged to get life-saving drugs.” Subscribe now: Get smarter about your money and your career with our weekly newsletter Dont miss:
