Luke Koushmaro, a senior fiscal and policy analyst with the office, warned at a legislative hearing in May that the effort could be hampered by “considerable uncertainties” - a sentiment echoed by some Democratic lawmakers. Newsom said in early May that disrupting monopolistic drug prices requires state intervention and that California can pull it off because the state - with 40 million residents - “has market power.”īut the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office questioned whether California can produce its own drugs and achieve lower insulin prices. He argued that high prices “have directly harmed Californians.” “Insulin has long epitomized the market failures that plague the pharmaceutical industry, which have resulted in keeping insulin prices high,” Vishaal Pegany, assistant secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency, told lawmakers in May. Those companies, known as pharmacy benefit managers, negotiate with manufacturers on behalf of insurers for rebates and discounts on drugs - but insurers don’t always pass those savings on to consumers. To be successful, California - and the company it partners with - must navigate a complicated pharmaceutical distribution system that relies not only on drug manufacturers but also middleman companies that work hand in hand with health insurers. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.īut state health officials are still negotiating a contract with a drug manufacturer to make and distribute insulin and have not answered key questions such as how cheaply insulin could be produced and what patients would pay. To start, the goal is to dramatically slash insulin prices and make it available to “millions of Californians” via pharmacies, retail stores, and mail order, said Dr. The state is also working to identify other generic drugs it could bring to market, targeting those that are expensive or in short supply.
Newsom is asking state lawmakers to pump $100 million into an ambitious initiative to launch California’s generic drug label, CalRx, and begin producing insulin in the next few years, said Alex Stack, a Newsom spokesperson. One in 4 people who have diabetes and rely on insulin cannot afford it, forcing many to ration or forgo the drug, the administration added. Gavin Newsom’s administration said roughly 4 million Californians have been diagnosed with diabetes, a disease that can destroy organs, steal eyesight, and lead to amputations if it’s not controlled. Now, her insurance plan covers the entire cost of the lifesaving drug, but she stockpiles extra for a rainy day - and to give to other people with diabetes in need. When Sabrina Caudillo was diagnosed with diabetes in 2017, she had to pay $274 out-of-pocket for insulin.
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