As Americans grapple with the rising cost of medicines, a contentious ballot measure in California is being billed as a fix to an intractable national problem.
Known as Proposition 61, the proposal would require state agencies to pay no more for prescription drugs than the US Department of Veteran Affairs, which receives a federally mandated 24 percent discount from manufacturers. In theory, that would lower drug costs for up to 7 million residents of California who get insurance coverage for their medicines through various state agencies, including low-income residents on the state version of Medicaid.
