VA Prescription Drug Affordability Board Measure & More

VA Lawmakers Okay Prescription Drug Affordability Board

Virginia lawmakers have passed legislation (SB 271/HB 483) that would create a prescription drug affordability board to review drug prices and set limits on how much state-regulated health plans can pay for drugs. The legislation is similar to that enacted in other states, but Virginia’s would be the first linking the board’s activity to drug price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare mandated by the federal Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. (PLURIBUS NEWS, LEXISNEXIS STATE NET)

Federal Government Targeting Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising

After decades of debating whether to restrict direct-to-consumer drug advertising, the Trump administration and federal lawmakers appear to be moving in that direction.

Last February, U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) introduced a bill (SB 483) prohibiting drugs from being advertised directly to consumers for three years after they receive FDA approval. The measure is still pending.

In September President Trump issued a presidential memorandum calling for the reversal of a 1997 policy change that allowed drug advertising on television. On the same day, the FDA announced that it was “sending thousands of letters warning pharmaceutical companies to remove misleading ads and issuing approximately 100 cease-and-desist letters to companies with deceptive ads.” (NEW YORK TIMES)

—Compiled by SNCJ Managing Editor KOREY CLARK

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