Price of Compound Creams To Relieve Pain Sharply Increased Following Enactment of a 2012 State Law
A 2012 state law (AB 378) that aimed to reduce the costs of compound creams to treat pain by creating a pricing schedule for the ingredients has caused prices for the drugs to rise dramatically in recent years. Alex Swedlow, a researcher with the California Workers' Compensation Institute, said that the amount that state's workers' compensation system has been billed for compound creams has increased from $10 million in 2006 to $145 million in 2013.
- "The Price of Pain: High Costs Spur Questions About Compound Creams" (Foshay, "KPCC News," KPCC, 9/9).