Lowering the Cost of Medicine

What do we mean when we say we want to lower the cost of medicine in Virginia? It means exactly what you may think: working on solutions that will help to bring the cost of medicine down for hardworking families. While these solutions are wide-ranging and fall under different parts of the medical umbrella, we’ve been working on one solution in particular for a few years now: lowering the cost of prescription medicine through a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). 

We firmly believe that no one should have to choose between necessities like groceries or rent and life-saving and sustaining medicine. That’s where the PDAB comes in! Already in place in other states like Maryland and Colorado, the PDAB would be an independent board of health and medical experts empowered to review prices of certain high-cost medicines and set an upper payment limit for consumers when a medication is deemed unreasonably costly. 

Not only do high drug costs affect families and their budgets, but the high costs also affect the Commonwealth and its budget. In 2020, Virginians spent 36% more per person on prescription drugs than the national average - $1500 compared to $1100 nationally. Meanwhile, Virginia continues to waste more and more taxpayer dollars on prescription drugs, with the Commonwealth spending more than $3 billion in FY 2023, a 57% increase in just three years since FY 2020. It’s clear that we need to lower the cost of medicine in Virginia. 

One person who knows the impact of prescription drug prices personally is Delegate Karrie Delaney. Motivated by her child’s type 1 diabetes, Delegate Delaney has been a champion for lowering the cost of medicine and has been the chief bill patron for PDAB legislation in the House of Delegates for three years. 

We asked Delegate Delaney to share her top three reasons for Virginia to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board: 

1. The cost of living should not outweigh the cost of staying alive. Lowering prescription drug costs will ensure that no Virginian will have to choose between their medicine and keeping a roof over their heads. 

2. Virginians deserve to come first. A Prescription Drug Affordability Board would prioritize Virginians’ health over pharmaceutical profits.

3. Transparency and accountability are vital. Virginians deserve to know why drug companies want to increase the costs of their medicine and to have someone fighting to ensure prices are fair. 

For these reasons and so many others, we hope you’ll join us in supporting a PDAB for Virginia during the 2026 General Assembly session!