WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#GovWaste–Today, Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) named California Governor Gavin Newsom our January 2020 Porker of the Month for wanting a state government takeover of the pharmaceutical industry.
On January 10, 2020, Gov. Newsom proposed a plan to make California the first state to create its own drug label to “control costs.” The proposal would create only one market for drug pricing in California, allowing state programs, health insurers, and private employers to negotiate drug prices together. Drugmakers would have to sell generic drugs at the same price to everyone in the entire state. The governor is ignoring the fact that last year drug prices dropped for the first time in 45 years. Gov. Newsom also wants to create an entirely new, costly, and intrusive department called the Office of Health Care Affordability in order to help implement his unrealistic plan. Instead of allowing California’s state government into the pharmaceutical business, the FDA should speed up the approval of generic drugs.
CAGW President Tom Schatz said, “Gov. Newsom’s plan to have California create its own drug label is costly and dangerous. His concept shows a lack of basic economic understanding of how generic drug pricing works. If implemented, the proposal would limit patient access to life-saving drugs by causing shortages and destroying innovation. Forcing manufacturers to sell their drugs at the same price to everyone in the state won’t reduce high costs. Gov. Newsom’s drug price control plan is a prescription for disaster. California isn’t Costco, and generic drugs shouldn’t be treated as a Kirkland label.”
Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government. For more than two decades, Porker of the Month is a dubious honor given to lawmakers and government officials who have shown a blatant disregard for the interests of taxpayers.
Contacts
Ally Abrams (202) 467-5310
aabrams@cagw.org