RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Flanked by lawmakers, a 25-year-old Richmond resident is urging Gov. Glenn Youngkin to sign bills to create a prescription drug affordability board in Virginia.
On Wednesday, April 3, lawmakers and advocates, such as 25-year-old Savannah Morris, met in Richmond to urge Youngkin to sign bills that would create a prescription drug affordability board in Virginia.
“This bill will, in short, save lives,” Morris told 8News.
Morris, who was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease when she was 15, said the cost of her medications has forced her parents to come up short on their rent or car payments.
“That guilt that I experienced is just, I can’t find words for it,” Morris said.
If created, a prescription drug affordability board would have the power to cap the price of certain drugs if, after review, the board determines pharmaceutical companies are charging too much. Morris said without it, she fears she’ll have to stop taking certain medications, making her Crohn’s symptoms worse.
“I experience inflammation of my whole body, I experience symptoms that leave me in bed. I miss work. I miss school,” Morris said.
However, pharmaceutical companies say because the bill doesn’t address the role insurance companies and others play in the cost of prescription drugs, prices will remain the same.
“There have been prescription drug affordability boards put up in Maryland and Colorado,” Stami Williams, Director of State Public Affairs for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, told 8News. “They have yet to help one patient or save one cent. It gives people false hope and it’s not fair.”
However, Morris said any attempts to bring down drug prices are worth trying, and she has a message for Youngkin.
“I’m hoping [Youngkin] sees that this is something that affects everyone,” Morris said. “It’s not a one-side-of-the-aisle thing. Everyone has chronic illnesses. Everyone can have a disability. Sickness does not discriminate.”
Youngkin has until April 8 to take action on these bills. He can either sign them into law, veto them, allow them to become law without his signature, or amend them for the General Assembly to consider.
