Prescription for Saving Money
The California Department of Health Services reports that it is forced to pay as much as seven times more than other agencies for some prescription drugs for Medi-Cal patients. With tougher price negotiations, the state could save $40 million a year, which in turn could be used to expand drug services.
That is the reason why Dr. Kenneth W. Kizer, director of the Department of Health Services, is pushing AB 2148, sponsored by Assemblyman William Baker (R-Danville), to create a special state office to negotiate rebates on the price of single-source prescription drugs.
Dr. Kizer reports that passage of the bill is essential both to cost control within Medi-Cal and for the quality of service, assuring “Medi-Cal patients the same standard of care as other patients receive.†The validity of his argument is evident in a study of 57 single-source prescription drugs. For 56 of them, the state is paying more--up to 741% more--than other purchasers, including other government agency purchasers.
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