How Will Sale and Distribution of Generic Drugs in Washington State Affect Drug Prices?

Surging drug prices have led to widespread frustration across the United States. Washington state’s Senate recently passed drug pricing legislation allowing the state to purchase generic drugs, distribute them, and to manufacture them. To accomplish these goals, Washington state is expected to secure partnerships with a mix of local and state governments, nonprofits, payers, and providers. This move is part of a state-level push throughout the United States to lower prescription drug prices as federal law prohibits several price control measures: the importation of cheaper medications and negotiating prices with Medicaid.

“There is wide agreement that the work of curbing drug costs would be better done at the federal level, but inaction in D.C. has driven dozens of states to take up the matter, said Sen. Karen Keiser, a member of the Senate Health & Long-Term Care Committee who was a driving force behind both the stalled anti-gouging bill and the vetoed prescription-affordability board.” Read more here.

(Source: Levi Pulkkinen, InvestigateWest, 3/5/21)