Second Prescription Drug Discount Measure Qualifies for Special Election Ballot
A measure supported by labor and consumer health advocacy groups that would require pharmaceutical companies to provide discounts on prescription drugs to some state residents on Thursday qualified for the Nov. 8 special election ballot, the Sacramento Bee reports (Furillo, Sacramento Bee, 6/17).
The measure would require drug makers to provide discounts on medications to state residents whose annual incomes do not exceed 400% of the federal poverty level. Drug makers that declined to offer such discounts would be barred from participating in Medi-Cal.
About 10 million California residents would be eligible for drug discounts under the measure, which is sponsored by the Alliance for a Better California -- a coalition of labor unions, consumer groups and advocates for the elderly (California Healthline, 6/14).
According to the secretary of state's office, the measure qualified with 417,067 validated signatures. The measure, which is the seventh to for the special election ballot, needed 411,198 signatures to qualify (Sacramento Bee, 6/17).