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RICHMOND, Va. — Freedom Virginia today applauded the bipartisan support for two key bills to make medicine more affordable.
Today, the Senate and House passed bills to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB), which will allow Virginia to set reasonable rates for certain high-cost, burdensome prescription drugs.
This afternoon, the House passed HB 570, patroned by Del. Karrie Delaney (D-Fairfax), by a bipartisan 52-46 vote. Also this afternoon, the Senate passed SB274, patroned by Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Charlottesville) and co-patroned by Sen. Bill Stanley (R-Franklin), with bipartisan support by a 23-16 vote.
A PDAB would lower the cost of medicine by setting cost limits on how much Virginia consumers will pay for certain medications. The Board would be an independent body of health and medical experts who would use data-based strategies to lower prescription drug prices. PDABs have been established in both Republican and Democratic administrations across eight states, including most recently in Minnesota and Colorado.
Last week, the House and Senate both unanimously passed legislation to increase transparency for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The House unanimously passed Del. Atoosa Reaser’s HB 1402 on Wednesday, and the Senate unanimously passed Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy’s SB 660 on Thursday. The legislation would impose a $5,000 per day fine on unlicensed pharmacy benefit managers. It would increase reporting requirements to shed more light on the rebates and fees collected by pharmacy benefit managers, and strengthen enforcement provisions for PBMs that keep this information hidden. Transparency on how money flows from manufacturers through PBMs and ultimately to insurance companies, providers, and consumers is critical to understanding the prescription drug market.
The bills now move to the opposite chambers for consideration.
Freedom Virginia Executive Director Rhena Hicks issued the following statement:
“The status quo cannot continue. Families are spending too much of their hard-earned money on prescription drugs while navigating a confusing system that prioritizes profits over health care. Senate and House leaders have taken strong steps to lower medicine costs and increase transparency. Now, it’s time for legislators to move these bills across the finish line and to Governor Youngkin’s desk. Virginians will remember which elected officials stood for lower medicine costs and which ones stood with big pharmaceutical companies.
“We’ve made tremendous progress this session toward fairer drug prices for Virginians. We also built momentum behind legislation brought by Senator Schulyer VanValkenburg and Delegate Destiny LeVere Bolling to rein in state spending on prescription drugs, which has increased since 2020 by 58% to more than $3 billion per year. We look forward to continuing that effort in the next legislative session.”
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