{"id":8734,"date":"2026-03-20T10:33:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:33:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/oregon\/?post_type=update&p=8734"},"modified":"2026-03-20T10:33:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T17:33:47","slug":"one-small-step-in-the-right-direction-for-lowered-prescription-drug-costs","status":"publish","type":"update","link":"https:\/\/pirg.org\/oregon\/updates\/one-small-step-in-the-right-direction-for-lowered-prescription-drug-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"One (small) step in the right direction for lowered prescription drug costs"},"featured_media":47233,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":false,"_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":""},"campaign_tax":[173],"display_option":[],"issue_tax":[],"region_tax":[],"state":[40],"topic_tax":[147],"class_list":["post-8734","update","type-update","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":{"details":{"helper_taxonomies":{"topics":[147],"collection":false,"press_type":false,"person_type":false,"resource_type":false,"event_type":false,"campaigns":173,"department":false,"level":false,"states":[40],"act_option":false,"display_option":false,"primary":{"topic":null}},"featured_image":47233,"caption_override":"","excerpt":"Oregon board declares some prescriptions unaffordable, but more work needs to be done","hide_hero_image":false},"helper_people_group":{"title":"Authors","entities":[{"type":"dynamic","dynamic_person":{"site":116,"people":"8013"},"information":{"name":"","image":null,"role":"","biography":"","contact":{"twitter":"","facebook":"","email":"","phone":""}}}]},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Prescription drugs cost too much. <\/span>1 in 3 Americans don\u2019t use their prescriptions correctly due to cost<\/span><\/a>, and their prices are only getting higher. In an attempt to address this problem, in 2022, Oregon created a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which was tasked with analyzing the cost of individual drugs and determining whether they pose specific challenges for consumers in terms of out pocket costs and premiums as well as taxpayers and government budgets. These reviews get sent to legislators and other decision makers, along with advice on how they might address these high costs.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nEarlier this year, PDAB completed its first prescription drug affordability review, ultimately declaring <\/span>that 3 drugs and 1 insulin product create <\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u201caffordability challenges for the health care systems or high out-of-pocket costs for patients in the state.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\r\n

This is an important step towards lowering prescription drug costs, but there is more work to do.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nFirst, PDAB is already starting the discussion about which drugs to review this year. We think the place to start is the list of drugs that are part of the Medicare Price Negotiation Program. In 2024, Medicare started negotiating the price of some drugs. As a result, Medicare began paying pharma less for 10 of the most expensive and popular drugs, <\/span>saving $6 billion in costs per year.\u00a0<\/span><\/a>\r\n\r\nThere was discussion in the PDAB that any drugs that Medicare negotiates the price for shouldn\u2019t be considered for an affordability review. We strongly disagree. If a drug is too expensive for Medicare holders, it\u2019s probably too expensive for everyone else too! Not everyone is covered by Medicare, so by ignoring the drugs Medicare deems too expensive, PDAB risks abandoning the millions of Oregonians who have different insurance.<\/span>\r\n\r\nSecond, designating these drugs as unaffordable is only a first step. Unlike other state PDABs, Oregon\u2019s PDAB doesn\u2019t have the power to set a maximum amount that can be paid for a particular drug, otherwise known as an upper payment limit. We\u2019re calling on the state legislature to give the PDAB this authority, and urging the PDAB itself to make a recommendation to the legislature in support of the concept. This would give the PDAB the ability to take action on the drugs they\u2019ve deemed unaffordable by preventing pharmaceutical companies from charging excessive amounts for their purchase. <\/span>","":null}}],"featured_content":""},"yoast_head":"\nOne (small) step in the right direction for lowered prescription drug costs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oregon board declares some prescriptions unaffordable, but more work needs to be done\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pirg.org\/oregon\/updates\/one-small-step-in-the-right-direction-for-lowered-prescription-drug-costs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"One (small) step in the right direction for lowered prescription drug costs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" 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