California could soon start selling its own brand of generic prescription drugs

(Image credit: Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images)

published 10 January 2020

California may soon find itself in the prescription drug business.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will share the new state budget on Friday, and it is expected to include a proposal that California start selling its own brand of generic drugs. It would become the first state to do this, and Newsom's office said the goal is to increase competition in the generic drug market, saving Californians money.

"A trip to the doctor's office, pharmacy, or hospital shouldn't cost a month's pay," Newsom said in a statement. "The cost of healthcare is just too damn high, and California is fighting back." His office did not release many details about the proposal, but did say California could work with multiple generic drugmakers to offer specific prescriptions under the state's label, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.