A Prescription Drug Affordability Board, or PDAB, aims to limit the prices for certain frequently prescribed drugs. A bipartisan group of Virginia legislators hoped to transpose a federal price limit plan into Virginia law, but Governor Abigail Spanberger amended the effort. Officials sent the bill back to the governor’s desk without her amendments and now hope she’ll sign it anyway.
Fairfax Delegate Karrie Delany had been working on a Prescription Drug Affordability Board for years and even got Republican support. But Governor Abigail Spanberger amended the bill, requiring another vote in 2027. Delany called it an unnecessary delay.
“Patients can’t wait any longer," Delany told Radio IQ Tuesday morning. "We are seeing people struggle with their drug prices today and we have the ability to change that right away.”
But PDABs have faced challenges in states where they’ve been created, including litigation. Colorado started one five years ago and has dealt more with lawsuits than drug costs.
According to her staff, the governor’s changes were influenced by those states’ experiences including, “the significant legal fees states are facing as a result of constitutional challenges to price settings.”
John Newby is with the Virginia Biotechnology Association, a trade group for Virginia’s pharmaceutical industry, and welcomed the changes.
“We have the same problems: an artificial price that will be put on drugs which could limit investment in Virginia as well as potentially reduce the availability of these drugs,” Newby said.
Still, Republicans like Southside Senator Bill Stanley think Spanberger should sign what the legislature sent back to her and fix the issues later.
“I think we need to start the board, then we can tweak the board. We can make it better once we get it underway," Stanley told Radio IQ. "But if we delay another year, people who need these prescription drugs but can’t afford them are going to go another year without this medication and that's almost criminal.”
Spanberger has until May 23rd to sign or veto the effort.
