Effective January 2007, the state of California will be authorized to seek drug discounts up of up to 60 percent for California residents receiving benefits from Medicare Part D. Drug companies are “alarmed,†of course.
From the Kaiser Network:
Although state officials say the measure is voluntary, the law also includes language that permits California in 2010 to remove from its Medicaid formulary treatments sold by companies that do not comply with the law. According to the Globe, the “law is intended to help California’s low-income and underinsured residents by leveraging their collective purchasing power.” It aims to lower the cash price of prescription brand-name drugs by 40% and generic drugs by 60%, according to Nicole Kasabian Evans, a spokesperson for the California Health and Human Services Agency.
Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law in September.