California will start making its own insulin to combat high drug prices, governor says
CBSN
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that he approved a budget that allocates $100 million for the state to create its own insulin, a response to extremely high prices for the life-saving medication that have made it inaccessible to some people with diabetes.
"Nothing epitomizes market failures more than the cost of insulin," Newsom said in a tweeted video. "Many Americans experience out-of-pocket costs anywhere from $300 to $500 per month for this life-saving drug. California is now taking matters into our own hands."
Newsom said $50 million will go to the development of low-cost insulin products, while the other $50 million will be used to create a California-based insulin manufacturing facility. He did not specify a time frame for the product or say exactly how much it would cost, though he noted that the state plans to make it "at a cheaper price, close to at-cost, and to make it available to all."
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.