Authority is needed to allow board to address high cost drugs for all Marylanders
| Media Advisory WHAT: News conference with legislative leaders to push for expanded authority for the Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board WHEN: Tuesday, January 21, 2025; 12 noon WHERE: Miller Senate Office Building Media Room, 11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401 The event will be livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/mdhealthcareforall WHO: Del. Bonnie Cullison (Montgomery County), Vice Chair, House Health and Government Operations Committee, lead sponsor Sen. Dawn Gile (Anne Arundel County), lead sponsor Sen. Brian Feldman (Montgomery County), Chair, Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee, lead sponsor Del. Jennifer White Holland (Baltimore County), lead sponsor Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, Chair, Maryland Legislative Black Caucus Dr. Danita Tolson, Health Chair, Maryland NAACP Denise Gilmore, Political Director, AFSCME Maryland Council 3 Ricarra Jones, 1199SEIU Political Director Tammy Bresnahan, AARP Maryland Senior Director of Advocacy Rev. Dr. Sandra Conner, President, Baptist Ministers’ Night Conference of Baltimore & Vicinity Erica Miller, Patient Advocate Vincent DeMarco, Maryland Citizens Health Initiative President |
Legislators will join health care advocates and people hurt by high cost drugs to call on the General Assembly to expand the authority of the Maryland Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) and allow it to set upper payment limits on high-cost prescriptions for all Marylanders. The bill numbers are SB 357 and HB 424.
Under current state law, the PDAB has the authority to set limits on the costs paid by government agencies for certain high-cost drugs. The General Assembly session will consider legislation this year to expand the PDAB’s authority so they can make high cost drugs more affordable for all Marylanders. The bill is a priority for the Maryland Health Care for All Coalition, the Maryland Legislative Black Caucus and hundreds of consumer, labor, faith and health groups, such as AARP, the Maryland NAACP, 1199 SEIU, AFSCME and many faith groups including the Ecumenical Leaders’ Group and the Central Maryland Ecumenical Council.
Leaders of the Maryland General Assembly last fall approved the PDAB’s plan to set upper payment limits for high-cost prescriptions purchased by state and local government. With that approval, the PDAB will act this year to cap the cost that state and local government pay for certain expensive medications, which will save taxpayer spending on expensive drugs.
“The PDAB has done great work to come up with a plan to bring down the cost of some prescription drugs purchased by state and local government, and now it’s time to expand the Board’s authority statewide,” DeMarco said. “The PDAB has proven that it takes a fair and balanced approach to bringing down drug costs, and the General Assembly should expand the Board’s authority and allow it to bring down costs for drugs purchased by all residents in the state. This must happen now because high cost drugs are unaffordable to so many Marylanders and drugs don’t work if people can’t afford them. And we all pay the price in higher premiums when insurers pay exorbitant prices for high cost drugs.”
The PDAB’s actions are among the first by a state drug board in the nation and echo the recent actions by the federal Medicare program to negotiate lower costs for several high-cost drugs, which will generate significant savings for the program and people on Medicare.
Last modified: January 17, 2025
