FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2025

(SACRAMENTO, CA) – Today, Liz Helms, President and CEO of the California Chronic Care Coalition (CCCC), issued the following statement in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement that the state will begin requiring pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to be licensed:

“We applaud Governor Newsom for taking action to bring PBMs under state oversight. Licensure is a meaningful step toward long-awaited accountability, transparency, and equity reforms.

“Patients across California are struggling to afford the medications they need and PBMs play a major role in driving up costs, limiting access, and putting independent pharmacies out of business. Today’s announcement will help the state to begin addressing these harms; however, we must do more to ensure medications are affordable and accessible for the people who need them most.

“While California is now the 26^th state to license PBMs, passing SB 41 by Senator Wiener will ensure California leads the nation with true, patient-centered reform.

“SB 41 goes beyond licensure, directly prohibiting some of the most damaging PBM practices, including spread pricing and patient steering. Patients should be able to choose their pharmacy, access the most affordable medications their doctors prescribe, and trust that the system is working for them, not against them.

“We are committed to working with lawmakers and the Governor to build on today’s announcement, while securing passage of SB 41.”

SB 41 is currently on the Senate Suspense File and will be heard on Friday, May 23. The bill is sponsored by the California Pharmacists Association, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and the California Chronic Care Coalition.