Propositions 78, 79: Prescription Drug and Discount Prices

Polls show that voters are confused over Propositions 78 and 79 on next month's ballot. Both deal in different ways with discounting the prices of prescriptions drugs. Prop 79 was put on the ballot by consumer and labor groups to require drug companies to discount prescription drugs in the Medi-Cal program. They've raised a few million dollars. Prop 78 is a counter-measure financed by drug companies to the tune of $80 million in campaign spending, a national record. It deals with drug discounting, too, but it would be voluntary instead of required. Should discounts be voluntary or required as a cost of doing business with the Medi-Cal program? We'll hear a debate tonight.

• Making News: Prop 63 Funds for the Mentally Ill in Los Angeles
  Prop 63, passed overwhelmingly last November, will tax rich Californians to help the mentally ill. The new law established a commission to decide who gets $280 for Los Angeles County. Last night, commissioners visited Skid Row and other neighborhoods. Today, they heard testimony from agencies vying for a piece of the action. Richard Van Horn, President of the Mental Health Association of Los Angeles, is a consultant to the Prop 63 Commission.

Prop 63: Tax for Mental Health Services

Corporation for Supportive Housing

University of Pennsylvania's New York New York Study (on keeping mentally ill people on the streets)

Prop 78: Discounts on Prescription Drugs

Prop 79: Prescription Drug Discounts, State-Negotiated Rebates

Colliver's article on Prop's 78 and 79