Ten months ago, California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a bill that would have forced prescription drug middlemen to be licensed and regulated through a state agency. Now, Newsom appears to be working in concert with the legislator who wrote that bill to do just that — and push back on a business that critics say is significantly responsible for the state’s soaring drug costs.
What happens next, through both a Newsom budget measure and a legislative bill proposed by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), will determine whether California finally gets into gear and joins more than two dozen other states in licensing pharmacy benefit managers, known broadly as PBMs.
