Book with title chronic care management on a table. Pain management concept.OPINION – Trying to manage a chronic disease can be overwhelming. Getting access to medications to treat the disease should not be. No one should have to choose between putting food on the table or getting life-saving medication to manage their health.
Photo illustration of money and medical care. (Image: ShutterstockProfessional, via Shutterstock)OPINION: If passed, SB 958 would severely limit specialty pharmacies’ ability to deliver lower cost medications to patients, while also making it even easier for hospitals to markup the cost they charge patients for critical medications, and in the end, we would see higher health care premiums for California’s employers and individuals.
Drugs on a shelf for sale at a pharmacy. (Photo: i viewfinder, via Shutterstock)OPINION: With the rising cost of health care at forefront of nearly every Californian’s mind, lawmakers in Sacramento are rightly considering a range of potential policy proposals to help rein in costs. In 2018, legislators took positive initial steps to regulate some of the egregious business practices of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) – little-known middlemen in the health care system who have contributed to rising costs.