California Governor Gavin Newsom today announced a series of major health care reforms to provide relief to millions of California consumers, employers, and taxpayers struggling with high health care costs. In his 2020-21 budget, the Governor is proposing policy changes to address the price of health plans, providers, and prescription drugs. Health care consumer advocates […]
Governor Newsom Signs AB 824 to Lower Prescription Drug Costs in First Health Care Bill Signing Event
California Governor Gavin Newsom today signed the biggest prescription drug price bill of the year, intended to lower prescription drug prices for California consumers by hundreds of millions of dollars a year. During the first-ever health care bill signing event under the new Administration, Newsom signed AB 824, authored by Assemblymember Wood and sponsored by Attorney General […]
In a Win for Consumers, AG Becerra Announces $70 Million Pay-For-Delay Settlement
California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra today announced four settlements totaling nearly $70 million in payments against pharmaceutical companies for participating in harmful “pay-for-delay” deals that keep lower-priced generic medications off the market for longer, reducing competition and arbitrarily keeping life-saving medications more expensive for consumers. According to the AG, this is the largest settlement of […]
On 100th Day, Governor Newsom Announces New Partner on Prescription Drug Purchasing Pool
On his 100th day in office, Governor Gavin Newsom announced a partnership with Los Angeles County on prescription drug purchasing, putting together the power of the country’s biggest state and county for the biggest discounts and lower prices needed for medications. The State of California and Los Angeles County buy drugs for similar purposes and […]
Legislation to Deter ‘Pay for Delay’ Agreements Passes Key Judiciary Committee
A first-of-its-kind state legislation to prevent “pay-for-delay” pharmaceutical company pricing practices passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee today with bipartisan support. The California bill seeks to prevent brand name drug manufacturers offering patent settlements to pay generic companies to delay the introduction of lower-price medication to the market. The bill, AB 824 authored by Assemblymember Jim […]
New Bill to Lower Drug Prices Targets Practice of “Pay-for-Delay”
Consumer advocates cheered the introduction of a bill to address the outrageous pharmaceutical company practice of “pay for delay,” where drug manufacturers offer patent settlements to pay generic companies to delay the introduction of lower-price medication to the market. According to an FTC study, “these anti-competitive deals cost consumers and taxpayers $3.5 billion in higher drug costs […]
Court Halts Big Pharma Efforts to Stop California’s Landmark Prescription Drug Price Transparency Law
In a win for consumers, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California today dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) to halt California’s landmark drug price transparency law, SB 17, authored by Senator Ed Hernandez in 2017. Last year, PhRMA filed this lawsuit alleging the law as unconstitutional […]
SB 1021 (Wiener): Consumer Protections for Prescription Co-Pays and Formularies
President Trump’s 136 Question Marks on Prescription Drug Prices
After multiple reschedules, President Donald Trump gave a speech last week on prescription drug prices, unveiling a plan to address the issue that was underwhelming–several noted that the plan had few specific actions, and in fact literally had 136 question marks. While President Trump prioritized lowering prescription drug prices during his campaign, while in office […]