Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own • Hacker News Board

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#51

Post by jerlam » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:13 PM UTC

California governor Newsom announced this plan seven months ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32021868 (216 comments)

I clicked on the Vox link, hoping to see an update. There wasn't one, although I'm guessing that the 2022 announcement was about the budget being approved and now in 2023, they just started writing an RFP.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#52

Post by yumraj » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:14 PM UTC

Gene5ive wrote: post #37

How do people live with themselves charging 20 times the production cost of an essential medicine?

Same way people live with themselves working for an Ad companies that tracks people, and social media companies, and every other kind of business that is considered unethical by vast majority of people - by looking at their bank balance and being in denial about the harm they are causing.

One should look at their own employers and see if everything they are doing is ethical.

NOTE: just making a point, I don’t condone what these companies are doing

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#53

Post by asow92 » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:19 PM UTC

If we are making our own insulin, can we also take steps to prevent insulin resistance, pre-diabetes, and diabetes while we're at it?

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#54

Post by j_walter » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:20 PM UTC

thesausageking wrote: post #46

Walmart now sells Novo Nordisk produced insulin for $17 per pen[0]. I have a hard time believing California will do it cheaper than that. [0] https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-diabetic-care/3769564

I thought that insulin was the rapid one and not the long lasting one. I think a lot of people had put themselves into diabetic shock by using that one instead of the one they needed...because it was cheap.

https://theconversation.com/why-telling-people-with-diabetes...

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#55

Post by genderwhy » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:20 PM UTC

thesausageking wrote: post #46

Walmart now sells Novo Nordisk produced insulin for $17 per pen[0]. I have a hard time believing California will do it cheaper than that. [0] https://www.walmart.com/cp/relion-diabetic-care/3769564

Walmart needs to either earn a profit or use the item as a loss leader to earn a profit elsewhere. A government can provide services without expecting them to be profitable. (See: roads, licensing, schools, transit, etc.)

There's no reason California couldn't say, "If you need insulin, and you live in California, it's available for free." Assuming that's what the taxpayers want.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#56

Post by ggreer » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:22 PM UTC

genderwhy wrote: post #50

ChadNauseam wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does it usually imply?

"All these safety regulations slow down the free market! Anyone should be able to make and sell insulin! If it's poisonous, people just won't buy that!"

I mean… the FDA could drastically reduce the price of drugs and prevent shortages by allowing imports of medicines approved in the EU or Canada.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#57

Post by marcusverus » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:23 PM UTC

pastacacioepepe wrote: post #5

[flagged]

Oh, how the Socialists have been laid low. Once, they promised utopia. Now... they're pretty sure they can make cheap insulin.

I wish them luck, but I won't hold my breath.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#58

Post by LarryMullins » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:23 PM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #33

msla wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't Socialism, it's regulated Capitalism, akin to the Nordic Model.

"The Nordic Model isn't socialism!" "OK, so let's implement their policies." "No, that's socialism!" (cribbed from a meme; https://twitter.com/pty/status/1109687920938541057 )

Confusing. The people saying "The Nordic Model isn't socialism!" are the people who are responding to "No, that's socialism!" Saying that the nordic model isn't socialism is a response to those who oppose it by saying it is, an attempt to persuade anti-socialists to chill out.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#59

Post by ars » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:23 PM UTC

bhawks wrote: post #42

genderwhy wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[Citation very much needed]

The article directly explains this. # 1 competition works > When a company develops a new drug, it gets a period of exclusivity, 10 years or more, in which it is the only one able to make or sell that drug. But after that exclusivity period has passed, other companies can make a carbon copy and sell it at a lower price. Studies find that once several generic competitors come on the market, prices drop significantly.…

I've heard the part of the tweaks multiple times, and no one has ever explained why competitors can't just make the perfectly fine untweaked version.

Re: Insulin is way too expensive. California has a solution: Make its own

#60

Post by genderwhy » Thu, Feb 09, 2023, 6:23 PM UTC

This is great news. Honestly, I hope to see more nationalization of widely used services (or whatever the equivalent word for nationalization is at state or municipal levels.)

Municipal broadband, power, roads, schools, post, housing, and healthcare? It's long overdue, and with an appropriate amount of funding has been shown to be effective at controlling costs and delivering moderately good quality in most cases.

A lot of things get so warped by profit motive. And there are places I want a profit motive, but insulin (and healthcare generally) isn't one.