(HB1724)

GOVERNOR'S VETO

Pursuant to Article V, Section 6 of the Constitution of Virginia, I veto House Bill 1724, establishing a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. I previously vetoed this legislation during the 2024 session.

This legislation risks limiting patient access to essential medication by prioritizing costs over medical necessity.

Affordability of prescription drugs is a critical issue, but this proposal would instead compromise patient welfare in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The proposed authority granted to the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) would allow medication availability to be determined based solely on cost considerations rather than accounting for the expert opinions of healthcare professionals and the unique medical needs of individual patients. This approach could limit access to treatments and hinder medical innovation, especially for life-threatening or rare diseases.

The implications of the proposed upper payment limits (UPLs) are detrimental for patients with life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Life-saving treatments often entail the use of high-cost drugs targeted by these affordability measures; bringing down the costs of these drugs will require full transparency of prices and discounts and more competition and economic freedom, not price controls.

PDABs enacted in other states, including for example Maryland and Colorado, demonstrate, that due to the pharmaceutical supply chain's complexity, imposing arbitrary UPLs will limit access to life-saving pharmaceuticals and harm patients' health, without producing the savings promised by the supporters of the legislation.

Accordingly, I veto this bill.