The EACH/PIC Coalition submitted written testimony to the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations ahead of consideration of H.B. 1724. The letter urged the committee to oppose legislation to empower a PDAB in Virginia.
The letter highlighted that PDABs are expensive, ineffective at lowering patient costs for prescription drugs, and could ultimately cause more harm by creating added barriers between patients and their medically necessary treatment.
The letter stated:
“Despite claims that they will lower patient costs, PDABs have so far produced no savings for patients, yet have cost the taxpayers across the nation millions of dollars in operational costs. … [I]t’s safe to assume that PDAB operations alone will cost states around $1 million each year. There is no such guarantee that any savings will be realized for states or patients.“
“Although well-intentioned, UPLs fail to address many of the underlying causes and complicated factors that result in higher prescription drug costs for patients. Therefore, we urge legislators to focus their time on identifying and addressing patient-reported obstacles to drug affordability.”