RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) – A new survey by AARP Virginia shows two-thirds of Virginians are concerned about not being able to afford the cost of their medication.
“One of them in particular, retails for $360,000 a year, which would require me to make $153 an hour just to afford that one medication,” Jillian Goodwin, who lives with cystic fibrosis, said.
The survey comes as a bipartisan group of lawmakers renew a push to create a Prescription Drug Accountability Board. The board would be tasked with reviewing the cost of prescription drugs and capping prices for people on certain health plans.
“Our TVs are littered with advertisements about this drug or that drug in order to get us interested in it, and then when we go to the doctor because we think it’s something we need or the doctor thinks it’s something we need, then suddenly we can’t afford it,” State Senator Bill Stanley (R-20) said.
A bill to create an accountability board failed earlier this year after the Youngkin administration and manufacturers groups raised several concerns, including that a cap on prices could stifle competition and that a part-time board shouldn’t regulate such a complex industry. Democratic Delegate Karrie Delaney disagrees.
“What this board does is it gives the opportunity for these drug makers to demonstrate why these drugs cost so much,” Delaney said. “Let us know where the money is coming from and where it’s going and how we are reaching these astronomical prices. If there is justification, the board will see it.”
Between 2021 and 2022, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that over 1,200 medications increased more than 30% in price, outpacing inflation by more than three and a half times.
