"Cal Rx"

"Cal Rx" is a program created by the major drug companies and adopted by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger which failed to pass the California Legislature and now appears as Proposition 78 on the November 8, 2005, ballot.

Here are links to four Etopia Media News Networks articles that report on "Cal Rx":

"David Fink, spokesperson for Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about prescription drug initiatives for California, including 'Cal Rx'" (April 19, 2005)

"Michael Lighty, Director of Public Policy for the California Nurses Association, talks about 'Cal Rx'" (April 15, 2005)

"Kristine Yahn, Executive Director of Californians for Patient Care, discusses 'Cal Rx'" (April 14, 2005)

"Major drug companies launch multi-media 'Cal Rx' initiative campaign" (April 12, 2005)

Proposition 78 versus Proposition 79

The "Vote Yes on Prop 79 website (at http://www.voteyesonprop79.com) urges a "Yes" vote on Proposition 79 and a "No" vote on Proposition 78. The "Yes on Proposition 78/No on Proposition 79" web site (at http://www.calrxnow.org/) urges a "Yes" vote on Proposition 78 and a "No" vote on Proposition 79.

Here are links to five articles from Etopia Media News Networks to help you make up your mind how you should vote on these two measures:

"Jerry Flanagan, consumer advocate at Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about LA Rx, Propositions 78 and 79, and political corruption in Sacramento" (September 1, 2005)

"Denise Davis, spokesperson for Yes on 78/No on 79, inadvertently admits publicly that "78 is a false promise" (August 31, 2005)

"Denise Davis, spokesperson for Yes on 78/No on 79, calls for passage of Proposition 78 and the defeat of Proposition 79 (August 30, 2005)

"Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Health Access California, urges 'Yes on Proposition 79/No on Proposition 78'" (August 16, 2005)

"California takes the lead on prescription drugs, RFID on driver's licenses, and celebrity sex scandals" (August 16, 2005)

LA Rx

Not on the November 8, 2005, California Special Statewide Election ballot, because it is already established law, is "LA Rx," a program imagined and passed through the efforts of consumer advocate Jerry Flanagan and then-Los Angeles City Councilmember and now-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

"LA Rx" is a group-buying plan that will, once it's in place, allow residents of the City of Los Angeles, and possibly anywhere else, to aggregate their purchasing power in order to secure for themselves lower prescription drug prices.

Here are two Etopia Media News Networks articles reporting on the passage and implementation of "LA Rx":

"LA-Rx program sets timetable for implementing bulk purchasing/drug discount card arrangements" (May 9, 2005)

"Los Angeles City Council adopts 'LA-Rx' plan for bulk pharmaceutical purchasing" (May 4, 2005)

monopsony

For more about the theory and possible practice of "monopsony," the opposite of "monopoly" and a process by which a single buyer exercises control over a market of multiple sellers, click on the title of this May 6, 2005, Etopia Media News Networks article: "Jerry Flanagan, consumer advocate at Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, talks about building consumer power through bulk purchasing."

""Rx Wars, Volume 1"

For a broader take on the pricing, availability, and safety of prescription drugs, take a look at ""Rx Wars, Volume 1." (September 6, 2005)

 

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