‘An Arm and a Leg’: Checking Up on California’s DIY Insulin Project

By Dan Weissmann

October 13, 2022

<br /> <span class="byline">Dan Weissmann</span></p> <p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/">Click here to listen.</a></em></p> <p><em><a href="https://armandalegshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Web-transcript_S8-Ep2_California-Insulin-2022-26-09.docx.pdf">Click here for a transcript of the episode.</a></em></p> <p>This year, the state of California put up $100 million to begin manufacturing its own insulin and sell it cheaply. <a href="https://khn.org/news/article/california-wants-to-slash-insulin-prices-by-becoming-a-drugmaker-can-it-succeed/">How’s it going to work?</a> (Is it going to work?)</p> <p>The price of insulin could be the starkest example of an out-of-control health care system: More than 7 million Americans need it daily to survive, and some die because they can’t afford it. But it’s a medicine that’s been around for 100 years, a medicine its discoverers didn’t want to patent.</p> <p>This episode of the “An Arm and a Leg” podcast looks at how California’s plan came to be, and what might stand in the state’s way.</p> <p>“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of KHN and Public Road Productions.</p> <p>To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/newsletter/">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. You can also follow the show on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/armandalegshow/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/armandalegshow">Twitter</a>. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact-us/">would love to hear from you</a>.</p> <p><em>To hear all KHN podcasts, <a href="https://khn.org/news/tag/podcast/">click here</a>.</em></p> <p><em>And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3wBgLSbYPKT3gnd9KGjz5t?si=jEMzB2soS_ayOsYbK0cmnQ">Spotify</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/an-arm-and-a-leg/id1438778444">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/show/an-arm-and-a-leg">Stitcher</a>, <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/web/discover/podcast/6e9e33e0-b911-0136-7b93-27f978dac4db">Pocket Casts</a>, or wherever you listen to podcasts.</em></p> <p>
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