Will Washington State Take on Drug Distribution Role?

A new bill would give the state of Washington’s Health Care Authority the power to distribute generic drugs and insulin in an effort to haul in out-of-control drug prices. This move is one of many aimed at lowering costs, including importing drugs from Canada and implementing a health technology assessment organization similar to ICER.

“A bill moving through the Washington legislature may make the state only the second in the U.S. with hopes of distributing its own line of generic drugs, an idea hatched last year in California as a way to combat the rising cost of prescription medicines that are straining government budgets.” Read more here.

(Source: Ed Silverman, STAT News, 3/17/21)