SACRAMENTO, CA (KMJ) – California becomes the first state to tackle pay-for-delay agreements.
On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom signed 3 bills to fight the high costs of prescription drugs, and increase healthcare access.
AB 824 authored by Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa) and sponsored by Attorney General Xavier Becerra stops pharmaceutical companies from keeping cheaper generic medicine off the market.
“California will use our market power and our moral power to take on big drug companies and prevent them from keeping affordable generic drugs out of the hands of people who need them,” said Governor Newsom.
According to a Federal Trade Commission study, it cost consumers and taxpayers $3.5 billion in higher drug costs every year.
Governor Newsom said “Competition in the pharmaceutical industry helps lower prices for Californians who rely on life-saving treatments.”
SB 464 by Senator Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) will reduce maternal mortality among black women, through bias training, and improving data collection at the California Department of Public Health to better understand pregnancy-related deaths.
“California is sending a clear message that discrimination has no place in our health care system,” said Governor Newsom after signing SB 464.
SB 159 by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) authorizes pharmacists to furnish pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP and PEP) without a physician’s prescription.
The bill also prohibits insurance companies from requiring prior authorizations for patients to obtain PrEP coverage.
Click to hear the report by KMJ’s Liz Kern
