If you’ve been following the news surrounding the unacceptably high cost of insulin, you are likely aware that California is in the spotlight. In his most recent budget adopted by the state of California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a plan for the state to manufacture its own insulin, sell it at close to the cost of manufacturing, and make it available to every California resident who needs it regardless of their insurance status. If this happens (and it’s still an ‘if’), it would be a major step forward in ensuring everyone has access to lifesaving insulin at an affordable cost—something JDRF has been fighting for relentlessly for many years.

We have looked at the proposal (so you don’t have to!). Here are the high-level takeaways:

• The budget that Governor Newsom signed on June 30 includes $100 million in support of this initiative. Specifically, $50 million will go towards the development of a “low-cost” insulin and $50 million will go towards building a facility to manufacture insulin.
• There are no details on what kind of insulin they will produce nor any sort of timeline for the project.
• It is unclear if California plans to distribute this insulin outside of California.

JDRF Supports All Efforts to Make Insulin More Affordable

JDRF and the State of California have a shared goal: easy access to affordable insulin for everyone who needs it. While JDRF is working at the Federal level to enact a national policy to achieve this goal, we appreciate the State of California’s efforts to ensure its citizens have access to low-cost insulin.

However, given the unclear timeline of this proposal, it is critical that JDRF continue to pursue our existing efforts to make affordable insulin a reality. We will continue to fight for legislation, like the INSULIN Act currently before the U.S. Senate that caps the monthly out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month, removes insulin from any deductible, and creates a pathway to lower insulin list prices regardless of a person’s insurance status.

In addition to our efforts to advance national legislation, we continue our support of the Civica insulin project. This project will manufacture and distribute three low-cost biosimilar insulin options to enable those who need it to purchase insulin at no more than $30/vial and $55/box of five pens, regardless of their insurance status.

Help Us Make Affordable Insulin a Reality

You can help us achieve insulin affordability! Become an advocate today, and use your voice to support this issue and others, like Federal funding for diabetes research.