State boards of unelected bureaucrats are poised to have a devastating impact on patient access and affordability.

Prescription Drug Affordability Boards (PDABs) will allow a group of unelected bureaucrats to set reimbursement limits on medications. While policymakers argue that this will create savings for patients, they cannot guarantee that patients will actually see savings at the pharmacy counter or, even more grimly, continue to enjoy widespread medication access. It is more likely that any reduction in cost will go to health insurance plans who will keep any difference as profit rather than passing them on to the patients they cover.
 
Further, the Board’s power to create upper limits on how much insurers reimburse for drugs in the state could prevent patients from accessing their medicines. If a hospital or pharmacy cannot obtain a medication at the reimbursement rate the Board has set, then they will not acquire and sell it, sell it for a loss, or find a way to cover the added cost including charging the patient the difference. This will hit people living with rare and chronic diseases the hardest.
 
PFCD is committed to highlighting the consequences of allowing unelected bureaucrats to determine who gets their medicines and who doesn't. 

​

Protect Virginia Patients, Not Price-Setting Bureaucracies 

​

Virginia lawmakers are considering PDAB-style price-setting schemes in House Bill 483 / Senate Bill 271 that have not been shown to lower what patients actually pay at the pharmacy counter and may instead limit access to needed medicines. They also waste taxpayer resources without results. Virginia legislators should reject HB 483 / SB 271 and instead focus on reforms that ensure savings flow directly to patients, including requiring ta manufacturer discounts and any PDAB-related savings are passed through at the pharmacy counter, banning harmful copay accumulator policies, and increasing transparency across the drug supply chain soo people with chronic conditions can afford and access the treatments they rely on. 

​

​Related Resources

Rare Access Action Project - Solving for Access and Affordability: PDABs are Not the Answer