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Drugmakers are becoming increasingly vocal in fighting a California ballot proposition on drug prices, concerned that the more $100 million in funding raised by lobbies opposing the initiative won’t be enough to stop it. ... Known as Proposition 61, the initiative intends to bring down the cost of prescription drugs by prohibiting California state agencies, such as Medi-Cal and state prisons, from paying more than the price paid by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. While Medi-Cal, the state health program for the poor, already can negotiate with drug companies, the national VA typically gets the best deal. VA rates may be about 20 percent lower than Medicaid’s, according to Piper Jaffray analyst Joshua Schimmer. (Chen, 10/25)

PhRMA's decision to hike membership dues 50 percent will increase the trade group's considerable coffers to more than $300 million per year — a financial advantage it hasn’t enjoyed since 2009, when drug makers came out largely unscathed in Obamacare negotiations. PhRMA is bolstering its war chest as it gears up to spend hundreds of millions on ads pushing back against politicians from both parties who have attacked its members over pricing. (Karlin-Smith and Palmer, 10/25)

Public anger at perceived price-gouging by drugmakers has fueled calls for lawmakers to take action. State legislators in California tried, pushing two bills aimed at shedding more light on prescription drug pricing. Both of those efforts died before the end of the session. In California and many other states, however, legislators aren't the only ones with the power to make law. (Castellucci, 10/22)

The opponents of Proposition 61 have put more than $100 million behind its defeat. The measure would bar state government entities from spending more for medications than the lowest price paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which generally gets big discounts. Federal law mandates a 24 percent discount for the VA, but the discount is sometimes more, and some veterans’ groups worry that the VA would no longer be able to negotiate deeper discounts should Proposition 61 become law. They also warn that drug companies could simply compensate by raising prices. (Cadelago, 10/25)

Despite widespread public furor over the soaring  of prescription drugs and accusations of price-gouging against pharmaceutical firms, the federal government has to date failed to find a solution. Some states aren’t waiting around for it to deliver. California residents will vote on a ballot initiative, Proposition 61, on Nov. 8 that would ensure state agencies pay the same or less for prescription drugs as the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. The federal agency gets a 24 percent discount off the list price, and often negotiates even steeper discounts on a drug-by-drug basis. (Gibson, 10/21)