Legislature Considers Capping Cost of Narcan to $10

SACRAMENTO ― As major pharmacies across the country prepare to begin selling Narcan over the counter next week, California is leading the way in making the life-saving drug more accessible with a proposed first-in-the-nation law that would limit costs to $10 or less per package.

“Making Narcan available without a prescription makes sense and will save lives―but only if you can afford it.” said Assemblymember Ortega. “We are seeing fentanyl show up in places where parents and community members least expect it. No parent should lose a child because they couldn’t afford a high pharmacy bill. California can be a leader here. By keeping the cost of this life-saving drug at $10 or less, my bill will empower thousands of parents, families, and community members to protect their loved ones should the worst happen.”

When the Food and Drug Administration announced in the spring that it would approve the drug for sale over the counter, public health experts applauded the move to make the overdose reversal drug more accessible, but expressed concerns that the high cost would remain a barrier.

Assembly Bill 1060, authored by Assemblymember Liz Ortega (D-San Leandro,) is the first of its kind in the nation, and would require MediCal and private insurers to cover the cost of over the counter naloxone. The bill has passed through the Assembly and is headed to the Senate floor for a vote in the next two weeks.

Fentanyl and synthetic opioid overdose is on the rise nationally and in California, with annual overdose deaths reaching more than 100,000 in 2021. In California, 7,175 Californians died of overdose in 2021, an increase of 119% over 2019, according to UC Berkeley’s California Benefits Health Review Program. Naloxone, often sold as Narcan, is a safe and easy-to-administer drug that can reverse a fentanyl overdose within minutes.

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• March 30 – Assemblymember Ortega Looks to Make Narcan Available to All