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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | March 1, 2024 09:03 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Camera Bartolotta |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Prescription Drug Affordability Board |
| One in four Pennsylvania adults reported in a 2023 statewide survey by Altarum that they had skipped doses of medications, cut pills in half, or left prescriptions at the pharmacy because of cost. Prescription drugs don't work if people can't afford them. The United States pays more for the same medications than any other country. Pennsylvania deserves answers on unexplained high cost medications or those with unjustified rapid cost increases. Not only are these drugs out of reach for patients, they also bust state and local budgets, and jeopardize the growth of small businesses by driving up healthcare costs. Pennsylvania must follow the lead of 11 other states (Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine) and address this problem by creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. This independent group of experts and stakeholders would investigate expensive medications that create affordability burdens for patients or taxpayers. Ultimately, much like the “maximum fair price” negotiations in Medicare, the board would bring transparency to the system and set a limit on how much Pennsylvanians would pay for certain unaffordable prescription drugs. There is near universal support (89%) among your constituents for this solution according to the same survey data cited above. Additionally, this approach would not require the use of taxpayer funds. Please join me in bringing accountability and fairness to drug costs by co-sponsoring the “Pharmaceutical Affordability Board Act.” |