Affordable Prescription Drugs

The amount we spend on prescription drugs has gone up more than four-fold since 1990. As Governor, Phil Angelides will help working families and senior citizens acquire affordable access prescription drugs.

The soaring prices of prescription drugs have put burdens on everyone. They've raised the price of health insurance for responsible employers. People are having to choose between paying for medicine or paying for food. Unable to afford the high prices, some seniors take half as many pills as prescribed, or just don't fill the prescription.

Phil Angelides will help Californians with prescription drug costs.

• Phil will help consumers shop for cheaper prescription drugs. States around the country have set up websites to let consumers compare prices and order cheaper prescription drugs from safe international pharmacies in Canada and other nations. While Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed measures to give Californians information on affordable ways to buy prescription drugs, Phil Angelides will support legislation that provides seniors and families the opportunity to purchase safe and legal prescription drugs at the best price via the Internet.
• Provide uninsured Californians with the same kinds of drug discounts offered to Californians with insurance. Currently, Californians who don't have health insurance, or who are underinsured, pay the highest prices of all for prescription drugs. Most uninsured people are low-wage employed workers, who can least afford to pay the highest prices for medicine. As Governor, Angelides will sign legislation similar to a bill authored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez (AB 2911) that would let uninsured Californians buy prescription drugs at discounts negotiated for them by the state.
• Phil will fight to fix the Medicare prescription drug program. Before Bush and the Republicans in Congress Medicare Part D, about a million Californians on Medicare-the poorest and often the most disabled-received prescription drug coverage by being also enrolled in Medi-Cal. They got drugs at no cost to them and the state negotiated steep discounts from the drug companies, saving money for taxpayers.  Bush’s Medicare Part D forced these poor seniors out of Medi-Cal drug coverage and now the poorest seniors are having to make co-payments for drugs they used to receive without cost. As Governor, I will lead the effort to change the federal law so that the poorest and sickest people on Medicare aren't paying more for their drugs and so that taxpayers aren't stuck with the bill for the drug companies' windfall.