Home California Senator Pan Introduces Bill for California to Become Manufacturer of Generic Prescription Drugs

Senator Pan Introduces Bill for California to Become Manufacturer of Generic Prescription Drugs

by ECT
On Monday, California State Senator Richard Pan introduced a bill that would require the State of California to manufacture generic prescription drugs in an effort to control prescription drug costs.

 

SB 852 states:

SB 852, as introduced, Pan. Health care: prescription drugs.

Existing law requires a manufacturer of a prescription drug with a wholesale acquisition cost of more than $40 for a course of therapy that is purchased or reimbursed by specified purchasers, including state agencies, health care service plans, health insurers, and pharmacy benefit managers, to notify the purchaser of an increase in the wholesale acquisition cost of a prescription drug if that increase exceeds 16 percent, as specified.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to introduce legislation to require the State of California to manufacture generic prescription drugs for the purposes of controlling prescription drug costs. The bill would also make related findings and declarations.

 

The bill was introduced after Governor Gavin Newsom announced the CalRx generic drug program.

“We need to lower the cost of prescription drugs — and the greedy pharmaceutical companies are going to fight us at every turn,” said Newsom in a Tweet.

Newsom stated in another tweet that: “Prescription drug prices are too high. I’m proposing that California become the first state in the nation to establish its own generic drug label. It’s time to take the power out of the hands of greedy pharmaceutical companies.”

 

This is what was included in the Governors proposed budget:

 

Addressing the Affordability Crisis

The state’s affordability crisis continues to threaten working families who are burdened by the rising costs of health care and prescription drugs, and the sky-high cost of housing and rent. Last year, the state passed historic measures to expand access to health care subsidies for the middle class, approved the strongest renter protection law in the nation, and provided $1 billion in tax relief for working families through the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), while investing in affordable housing production efforts.

The Administration has announced a new CalRx generic drug program making California the first state to create its own generic drug label and making the state’s generic prescription drugs available for sale to all Californians. The Budget transforms Medi-Cal to a more consistent and seamless system by reducing complexity and increasing flexibility and establishes a single market for drug pricing within the state.

The Budget also moves the state toward universal coverage and furthers cost containment goals by expanding full-scope Medi-Cal coverage to low-income undocumented Californians aged 65 and above.

Building on the state’s new renter protection law and unprecedented $1.75 billion investment in last year’s budget to increase housing supply and hold cities accountable for regional housing goals, this year’s Budget authorizes $500 million annually for the state’s housing tax credit program and continues to support housing development on excess state lands. In addition, the Administration is streamlining state processes to accelerate housing production. Finally, the Administration continues to work to establish a trust with $331 million that will provide borrower relief and support housing counselors or other legal aid agencies in representing homeowners and renters in housing-related matters.

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3 comments

Lance Jan 14, 2020 - 10:42 am

You have demonized the police and let out stone cold crooks. Your cities are dying. Freeways clogged. Lines everywhere, but you call for open borders. Filth, vomit, and feces greet everyone—and embarrassingly, our tourists. Amid all of these degrading lifestyle dynamics, you want to make pills like you regulate weed? God, you are a paragon of invisible virtue.

Just Ahunch Jan 16, 2020 - 11:22 am

Hey Lance I don’t think he reads this…

Robert C Jan 18, 2020 - 11:05 am

Big problem with this concept: the State of California is not competent to manufacture drugs. Another liberal who thinks that more government is the solution to everything. No wonder people are fleeing the state.

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