What Prop 61 Actually Does

The airwaves and internet are being flooded by commercials claiming that Prop 61, "STATE PRESCRIPTION DRUG PURCHASES. PRICING STANDARDS. INITIATIVE STATUTE" is going to be the end of the world and kill everything good and decent about big pharma. Well, this is the actual proposition.

Official California Voters Guide - Prop 61.

What it actually calls for is that the state would be required to contract for drugs at the same price as is given to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This is a common practice in contracting already. Rather than negotiating prices you require contractors to give you the best price they provide to anyone else. I used to put this in contracts myself.

Now you might wonder why the state buys drugs. The answer is pretty simple they have to buy drugs for people that are in prison and for the National Guard. It does not end there. The state usually requires that it's contracts can be used by cities and counties and they provide drugs to people in jails. So the end result would be that the state and local governments would pay less for the prescription medicines that they are required by law to purchase. It is that simple.