California lawmakers are considering a bill (AB 339) that aims to keep prescription drug costs down by limiting which medications insurers can include in the highest-cost drug tier, Capital Public Radio's "KXJZ News" reports.
Details of Bill
AB 339, by Assembly member Richard Gordon (D-Los Altos), would prevent insurers from placing all of the prescription drugs to treat a certain condition in the highest-cost tier of a drug formulary.
According to Gordon, insurers often place high-cost medications into such specialty tiers, which forces patients to pay a larger share of the prescription drug's price. For example, Gordon explained that if "all of the HIV drugs are in a very expensive top-tier category, that would appear to be discriminatory" (Bartolone, "KXJZ News," Capital Public Radio, 2/18).
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