Starting in 2026, Californians with diabetes will have significantly more affordable access to insulin thanks to new legislation signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Senate Bill 40, approved in October, will require large group heal th plans to limit insulin co-pays to $35 for a 30-day supply and introduce a state-branded insulin program called CalRx."We will be the first state to provide this not subsidized insulin, but lower cost insulin available to anyone and everyone at pharmacies and mail pharmacies all throughout the state of California," Newsom said.The legislation addresses a critical need for the millions of Americans living with diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, 1.2 million Americans are diagnosed with diabetes each year, and 97.6 million American adults are living with prediabetes.For Tyler Clutts, the new law represents hope for families like his. His life changed dramatically when his son Brayden was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at just 12 years old."He was in critical condition, and he was in what they called diabetic ketoacidosis, better known as DKA. Basically, he was not getting any insulin whatsoever, natural insulin in his body. So at that point, he was almost at 600 in his blood sugar level. So he was very critical at that point. Doctors had said if he wasn't brought in, he was just hours away from literally passing away," Clutts said.The experience motivated Clutts to create "Bakersfield T1D Warrior," a Facebook support group for people navigating diabetes. He wanted to establish a safe space where people could discuss their experiences and build a support system."I met a lot of amazing people, people that I would have never known in my life if it wasn't for this journey. So, I'm very thankful for everyone that's come into my life and come into this because we have a huge support system going on," Clutts said.Clutts knows firsthand how expensive insulin can be and believes the new law will provide crucial relief for struggling families."With this new law, a couple of people that I have spoken to are very excited for the possibility to be able to have access to insulin at such a low cost to help them because, I mean, let's just face it, if you don't have insulin when you're a diabetic, you won't survive. You will end up dying if you don't have it because you've got to be able to bring your sugar levels down," Clutts said.Building on the success of his Facebook group, Clutts is working on expanding diabetes awareness and support in his community."We're working on getting like a summit possibly, because the biggest summit that we have is down in Pasadena where they bring doctors and things like that in to talk about diabetes. So I'm working behind the scenes with Breakthrough T1D to try to get more awareness and more events and things like that here in Bakersfield," Clutts said.California joins several other states with similar insulin affordability laws, including Illinois, New Jersey and New York."This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."Stay in Touch with Us Anytime, Anywhere: Download Our Free App for Apple and Android Sign Up for Our Daily E-mail Newsletter Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram Subscribe to Us on YouTube ...read more read less