Free Republic

SACRAMENTO Legislation to provide prescription drug discounts for about 5 million uninsured or underinsured Californians was approved by the Senate on Tuesday despite warnings that it wouldn't work or could harm the state's poorest residents. The bill, the result of negotiations between the Schwarzenegger administration and Democrats, would require the state Department of Health Services to attempt to negotiate discounts with drug manufacturers. Drug companies that refused to cut deals with the state could find it tougher to get their prescriptions used by Medi-Cal, the state's huge health care program for the poor. The legislation comes after voters rejected two...