Why Minnesota Created a Public Option for Generic Drugs

The Fiscal Policy Podcast with Fexingo: Government Budgets, Stimulus, and Public Spending · Jun 10, 2026 · 12m · transcript

In May 2026, Minnesota launched the country's first state-run generic drug manufacturing program, aiming to break monopolies on price-inflated generics. Lucas and Luna dig into how the state identified three drugs where prices had jumped 400% in five years, tracing the supply-chain bottlenecks that let a single middleman control 80% of a market. They explore the legal structure—a state-owned factory leased to a nonprofit—and why the pharmaceutical lobby calls it 'government overreach' while patient advocates say it's the only antidote to price-gouging middlemen. The…