Why to sell? Insulin is not an adiction, it is life saving and life prolonging medicine. I am not paying for insulin, I am getting 6 pens per month for free. Insulin must be free for everyone that need it.
this post was submitted on 16 Oct 2025
11 points (100.0% liked)
Progressive Politics
3560 readers
189 users here now
Welcome to Progressive Politics! A place for news updates and political discussion from a left perspective. Conservatives and centrists are welcome just try and keep it civil :)
(Sidebar still a work in progress post recommendations if you have them such as reading lists)
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
11
California to become first state to sell cheap insulin through state-backed program
(lemmy.blahaj.zone)
We’ll see how many red-staters cross state lines to buy their evil, demonic $11 insulin.
and still spit fire und fury about that bein communism or something
"I deserve-it/actually-need-it not like those other free loaders" is a very real attitude that many Americans have.
Watch them take advantage of this while acting like “California is the worst state”
I have family that loves to say this. They moved from CA to live in a red, welfare state that siphons more federal funding than they generate.
I remind them often that my state pays for their state.
As a Newsom hater, I have to admit this is a big win for everyone. While he's still very far from an actual solution to the country's root problems - you can vote for him (if that's an option), and then continue protesting and pushing for more reforms. I'm not quite as optimistic to believe this will happen, let alone succeed, but it's an idea.
Newsom can be shamed into doing the right thing. Trump/Vance/Miller will disappear the shamers. Completely different realities.
The most transphobic version of Newsom is a return to needing several doctors to write a letter saying you are trans. We're already seeing Trump denying the right to exist and forcing the next generation of trans kids into navigating black markets for T shots or forced to grow with the wrong hormones.
$11 per month, that's only about double what it costs in most of the world. Wait... Still $11 PER PEN
Wtf did it cost before!!??
As a former pharmacy worker in California, anywhere from $40 to $200, depending on the patient's insurance. There's a reason Eli Lily and other companies monitor the supply truck drivers and call the cops if they stop.
At 3ml/pen and 100units/ml, that puts it on par (retail price) with Canada and Germany and around 50% more than France and UK.
As with a lot of US health prices, listed prices are massively inflated compared to average out of pocket expenses, creating horrible holes for uninsured people. In the US there are some recent caps for insulin cost of $35/month at the low end, and other caps in the $100/month range from what I've read.
Here is a good price comparison https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11147642/
Controversial take (though maybe not in this community):
If it's needed for survival, it should be free. No exceptions.
Well America voted against food being considered essential for survival...
that's how it works in most of europe with our socialist healthcare system
I would much prefer my taxes go toward making insulin to give away than bombs to give away.
I'd even, gasp, go so far as to say I'd happily give it away to citizens and illegal immigrants alike. Oh hell, everyone on the planet. No strings attached.
This is where my taxes should go. I can't stand the rhetoric that it's bad tax payers are footing the bill for those without insurance and those here illegally. That's what a society is supposed to do.
Devil's advocate: Medi-CAL (California's Medicaid program, already known for being very permissive) will likely already cover it for the eligible, and should the $11 be used in aggregate to cover distribution and manufacturing for all of California's citizens, it would be a reasonable rate to keep the program self-sustaining.
Allotting an exception for the payment for those who may have difficulty seems like a reasonable way to cover any gaps while making sure it never runs into the red.
Of course, but what California is doing is awesome, so why shit all over it?
I'm not. It's a step in the right direction.
Finally a thing gets done at a local level, because people wanted it to happen.
Now move to the south and influence the local elections.
Don't unilaterally condemn yourself to Christian misery just to be gerrymandered.
The Free State Project got what they wanted by coordinating first, then all moving. They didn't coordinate on bears afterwards but the first part of the plan was solid.
gerrymandered
America is really fucking weird. Truly a democracy to emulate. The entire practice of gerrymandering is so foreign to me that I don't understand how it can even be enforced.
You should move to the South! It'll make more sense then.
I'm steering clear of anything usa, thanks.
I don't want to go down the rabbit hole, but I'm wondering is this ia CA paying the difference on what would be price gouging, or CA actually controlling the process, to erase any opportunity for that price gouging. That latter would likely be permanent, the former would last only as long as the administration isn't seeking budget cuts.
They're partnering with a non-profit 501(c)(3) generic manufacturer that was set up by groups of hospitals.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civica_Rx
Seems as legit as you're going to find in the US.
For comparison...
In Aus I'm paying ~$32 for 25 pens
We have it decent in Australia, but for the Americans reading on, the bar is so ridiculously low you can walk over it.
I hope one day Medicare can actually be universal, and not the private subsidy model we have currently.
I dunno about you, but finding bulk billing is a pain the arse now, and in certain areas it simply doesn't exist. Not to mention my premium mouth bones which aren't covered for some stupid reason.
I just wish we'd finally kill off private health. Private health is such a scam we only take out because we have a two tiered system and there's a tax discount.
I really don't like Australians talking about how good we have it, when it's kinda meh, and actively getting worse.
That all being said, yeah, the PBS is pretty good and I'm glad insulin is affordable.
Thank Christ we didn't get the Libs back (for American readers, that's the conservative party), we could do SO much better given how wealthy we are per person.
But, anyone who doesn't want to pay more in tax in order to get truly public healthcare doesn't know how to do maths. We could just pay what we pay in private health premiums already, in tax, and we'd probably get way better care per person (because profit is inherently inefficient).
Abolish private health.
Thanks for being accosted with my rant.
load more comments
(7 replies)
view more: next ›