AHF Cheers Gov. Newsom’s Swift Action on Drug Pricing

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today commended California Governor Gavin Newsom for his swift, out of the gate action to rein in runaway drug pricing in the nation’s most populous state, an action which also sets an example for similar gubernatorial action nationwide.

In one of his first official actions as governor, Newsom issued Executive Order N-01-19 on January 7th—the same day he was sworn in to office. Executive Order N-01-19 seeks to streamline and maximize the efficiency of—and potential savings from—the state’s bulk purchasing of pharmaceuticals, reexamine drug pricing with an eye toward the potential for renegotiation of prices for state programs—and establish a framework to enable private drug purchasers to benefit from California’s bulk pharmaceutical purchasing.

Governor Newsom’s Executive Order—including Section 5, which would also allow for private drug purchasers to utilize California’s bulk purchasing power—echoes elements of potential legislation that AHF brought to Assemblymember David Chiu (D, SF), portions of which he incorporated AB 587, a 2017 bill which did not advance.

“AHF salutes Governor Newsom for stepping up so forcefully immediately upon his inauguration to address underlying forces that continue to make California’s health care system so expensive—runaway drug prices and the enormous administrative overhead associated with these purchases,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF. “In particular, we are heartened that in his Executive Order, the governor has also included a provision to allow or enable private drug purchasers in the state to participate in and/or benefit from savings that the leverage that California’s bulk pharmaceutical purchasing should foster.”

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over one million individuals in 43 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us @aidshealthcare.

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