LANSING -- State lawmakers are considering a plan to make Michigan the second state to produce its own insulin, a move supporters say will ease the financial burden for people with diabetes.
“No markup, no rebates, no games — just affordable, quality, Michigan-made insulin for Michigan residents,” said Rep. Curt VanderWall, a sponsor of the legislation.
The proposals would allow the state to contract with a private company to produce its own supply of insulin. The contractor would maintain day-to-day operations of the facilities and own the property.
“We owe it to our people to provide stability,” said VanderWall, R-Ludington. “This legislation before you today would put Michigan on the cutting edge of healthcare solutions in the nation and revolutionize the insulin market.”
VanderWall estimated that if passed into law, costs would soon fall to around $50 a month and eventually closer to $30.
According to the American Diabetes Association, over 38 million Americans have diabetes, including around 850,000 Michigan residents.
Cayley Winters-Norrie, who has diabetes, shared her struggles with affording insulin before a House committee.
“There are diabetic people all over the country, all over Michigan, who are struggling to make ends meet, struggling to afford their medication,” she said. “And they are dying over a drug that was sold — that its patent was sold for a single dollar by the scientist who discovered it, because they believed that insulin belonged to the world.”
Over 20 states, including New York and Texas, have instituted price caps on insulin, generally around $30 for a 30-day supply.
The federal government also recently set a price cap of $35 for a month’s supply, but only for Medicare recipients.
President Biden has shared a desire to cap insulin prices for all Americans and major manufacturers have announced similar price ceilings for some products in recent months.
In California, supporters of a similar state insulin production program estimate a 10 times decrease in the price of insulin, dropping from $300 to $30 for a 10 milliliter vial.
Most smaller states lack the scale for similar initiatives, but supporters say that Michigan already has the pharmaceutical production infrastructure in place for the program to make sense.
“This bill will put Michigan on the cutting edge of health solutions in this country and the world,” VanderWall said.
The bills passed out of committee with strong bipartisan support, sending them to the House and Senate for further consideration.
