Democratic lawmakers again propose Prescription Drug Affordability Board

With many medication prices rising faster than inflation, Democrats in both the House and Senate are proposing that Virginia create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board with the power to review and set upper payment limits on certain drug prices.

“Prescription drug costs have been spiraling out of control for years,” said Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City. “We all know it. … We also know that the model that we have for delivering medications is very tilted towards the suppliers, and it really extracts a lot of resources away from people that have very few resources.”

The proposal is Petersen’s second effort to create an affordability board after he withdrew a similar bill during a committee review last year, saying he hadn’t garnered enough support. Such boards have been created in seven states to date, with Maryland pioneering the idea in 2019.