Bill To Increase Transparency In Drug Prices Passes California Senate
“We’re not saying that they can’t raise the price. We’re just saying notify us,” said Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa). "And if [the price] goes up a significant amount, we should be able to question why.”
Los Angeles Times:
More Transparency Proposed For Prescription Drug Price Increases Under Bill Passed By California Senate
Alarmed by skyrocketing prices for some prescription drugs, the California Senate on Tuesday approved a measure aimed at increasing pressure to hold down costs to consumers by requiring more public reporting of price hikes. The lawmakers approved a bill that would require drug manufacturers to notify health plans and state purchasers such as the prison department of increases in the wholesale cost of drugs in writing at least 90 days before the new costs were to take effect. (McGreevy, 5/30)
In other news from Sacramento —
Orange County Register:
Rehab Patient Brokering Is Rampant, But It’s Hard To Stop, Industry Says
Middlemen – known sometimes as “junkie hunters,” “body brokers” or “interventionists” – find patients around the country and essentially sell them (and their insurance coverage) to the center willing to pay the most, often to centers in Southern California. The practice warps an already arduous corner of the health care system, rehab operators and officials say, blurring the line between care and profiteering. Yet a bill to forbid and punish such patient brokering – SB 636 by Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena – has been sitting in the California Senate since February, confined to a committee, with no hearings scheduled. (Sforza, Saavedra and Schwebke, 5/30)
KPCC:
California Senate Votes To Beef Up Superbug Tracking
The California Senate Tuesday approved a bill that would give the state the power to greatly expand the list of so-called superbug infections that hospitals would have to report. Currently, California requires hospitals to report three types of antibiotic-resistant infections. Under SB 43, the state department of public health could increase that list to 18. That's how many infections are listed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as "urgent," "serious" or "concerning." The bill would also require the state to report the number of deaths caused by these infections each year. (Faust, 5/30)