Legislative News … Daniel Nnorth and Claudia Schott

The State Budget was signed on June 27 and included the Caregiver Resource Centers budget ask of $30 million over 3 years, and funding for the $1 million Long-Term Services and Supports (LTSS) Feasibility Study.  Thank you for your support of these priority budget asks!

Our next state legislative priority is AB 824 (Wood). This one is about the delaying tactics for getting generic drugs out on the market.  Most of us live in District 15 (Santa Clara County, etc). Since AB 824 is in the Senate now, we need to make sure that our State Senator Jim Beale is on the ball and supports this piece of legislature, too.  If you know anyone in San Mateo County (District 13), please have them call their State Senator Jerry Hill and urge him to support AB 824.  Don’t forget to call State Senator Bill Monning (District 17 – Monterey, etc) – please call his office to thank him for supporting AB 824.

When you call your State Senator, you can share these points with the staff person you speak to:

  • AARP in California has specific legislation to stop pay-to-delay practices – AB 824 (Wood).
  • Currently, brand-name manufacturers are paying generic drug manufacturers not to introduce generic versions of popular medications to the public.  By doing so, drug companies are engaging in anti-competitive behavior and can continue to charge outrageous prices for their brand-name drugs even after their patents have expired.
  • This practice is reprehensible, and AB 824 will put an end to it.
  • AB 824 will preserve access to affordable drugs by making it unlawful for generic and brand-name drug manufacturers to enter into these pay-for-delay agreements.