Colorado Senate Passes ‘Prescription Drug Affordability Board’

The Colorado State Senate recently passed a bill that would establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, made up of five politically appointed members who would be tasked with price-fixing some of the state’s most expensive prescription drugs. While this sounds like a good idea on paper, industry experts are concerned with how this bill could negatively affect consumers.

“The proposed bill would make it illegal for any entity to pay more for a drug than an amount set by a five-member board appointed by the governor. Under the plan, this new bureaucracy would evaluate various (but unspecified) factors in the research, development, and production of certain expensive prescription drugs. Then, the bureaucracy would set an ‘Upper Price Limit’ (using a yet-unknown methodology) that would render the state’s verdict on what the drug is worth,” says Front Range PharmaLogic Co-chair Jennifer Churchfield.

Churchfield argues that should Senate Bill 21-175 pass into law, pharmaceutical companies may be inclined to stop supplying Coloradan’s with price-fixed drugs. The prescriptions most likely to be reviewed by a Prescription Drug Affordability Board are the ones that treat the most debilitating diseases, as these are often also the most expensive.

Two of the prescription drugs that could potentially be affected by SB 21-175 are used to treat HIV. Genvoya, ranked number three on the state’s top drug spends from 2016-2018, and Truvada, ranked number six, could potentially be on the review board’s docket. Industry experts fear that this board could potentially determine if a drug is worthy of having a lower cost based on who it cures. Thus, negatively affecting marginalized groups and even potentially forcing certain demographics to relocate in order to afford life-saving care.

Industry experts suggest that instead of reducing rates for consumers, a Prescription Drug Affordability Board could potentially limit access to life-saving prescriptions. In fact, it could end up costing taxpayers even more money. Prescription Drug Affordability Boards in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington State have estimated upwards of $800,000 for initial starting costs.

“This bill creates a new government program, with all the associated costs, that we taxpayers have to pay for, and still does nothing to directly benefit people who are on medications,” says Joni Inman, from Joni Inman Consulting.

In 2019, House Bill 19-1296 aimed to help reduce the cost of prescription drugs via rebates for Coloradans; however, the bill was voted down in May of that year.