Tallahassee, Fla. – The Council of Citizens Against Government Waste today applauded Florida Governor Jeb Bush for signing into law HB 69, a bill to provide immediate prescription drug relief for Florida citizens. 

“For three years in a row, CCAGW has worked closely with its membership in Florida, other taxpayer and consumer groups, and health professionals to remove therapeutically equivalent generic drugs from the state’s ‘negative formulary,’ CCAGW President Thomas A. Schatz said.   “Governor Jeb Bush, Rep. Nancy Argenziano, Sen. Charlie Clary and the Florida legislature should be commended for their gallant efforts.  HB 69 will provide a significant benefit for senior citizens and low-income people without drug coverage, who must otherwise pay for their higher priced drugs out-of-pocket.”

The Florida negative formulary was established in 1976, prior to the implementation of the strict standards and regulations the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now uses to approve generic drugs for the marketplace.  Pharmacists today can look at something called the “Orange Book,” published by the FDA and available on the Internet, to find out if a brand-name drug has a therapeutically equivalent generic drug and what generic drug can be safely substituted for the brand-name drug.  The legislation will still allow a physician to prevent generic drug substitution if for some reason the doctor thinks it is necessary. 

“Florida’s negative formulary was in dire need of being updated and signing this legislation into law does just that,” Schatz added.  “The only reason why there was any opposition to this bill was because a few brand-name companies didn’t want the competition.”

“Generic drugs undergo a rigorous review by the FDA to make sure they are safe before they can be marketed,” Schatz concluded.  “This action will make it easier for Florida citizens to have access to certain generic substitutes, something they did not have before.  Florida will now join 48 states that allow unrestricted substitution by a pharmacist for the less expensive generic therapeutic equivalent drugs.”

CCAGW has 110,000 members and supporters in Florida, and over one million members and supporters nationwide.  It the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.