The EACH/PIC Coalition submitted comments to the Oregon PDAB, in advance of their December meeting, providing input on the cost review process. The letter highlighted the challenging conditions the board faced throughout the 2025 review and urged for improvements to the process in 2026.
The letter stated:
“As we have emphasized throughout the 2025 review cycle, Oregon’s affordability review process has been rushed from the outset. The ambitious decision to review more than 20 medications within a compressed timeframe has placed extraordinary strain on both board members and staff, limiting the depth and rigor of deliberations.”
“This challenge has been evident for several months. We applaud the board for extending their review process for 2025, yet even a three month extension has not proven adequate to accommodate the scope of the undertaking that the board has taken on. Compounding this concern, staff noted during the last meeting that a clear measure of affordability has still not been established. Proceeding toward affordability determinations without first resolving this foundational issue raises serious questions about the validity of any conclusions reached.”
“We strongly encourage the board to refrain from making final affordability determinations until members have had adequate time to review the data, openly deliberate in public meetings, and apply a clearly defined, patient-centered understanding of affordability.”
“Despite the unresolved challenges associated with the 2025 review, the board is already moving forward with the 2026 process. This is particularly concerning given that, even after reducing the original 2025 drug list and seeking an extension, the board still struggled to complete a thorough and deliberative review. We urge the board to take these lessons seriously.”
“The board must start with patient implications and work outward. … Public engagement timelines must also be reconsidered. … [W]e strongly encourage the board to incorporate patient roundtables, listening sessions, and direct collaboration with patient organizations as a core component of the 2026 process, not as an afterthought.”
“We share the board’s goal of improving prescription drug affordability for Oregonians. Achieving that goal requires a process that is deliberate, realistic in scope, and grounded in patient experience. Without course correction, the current approach risks producing decisions that are rushed, inadequately supported, and disconnected from the realities patients face.”