CoPIRG calls for passage of Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board bill

SB21-175 would create a board that would research, review, and establish affordable costs for the most expensive prescription drugs

CoPIRG

DENVER – CoPIRG is calling on the Colorado House Health and Insurance Committee to approve SB21-175, entitled “Prescription Drug Affordability Review Board.” The bill, sponsored by Representatives Yadira Caraveo and Chris Kennedy and Senators Sonya Jaquez Lewis and Julie Gonzales, would create a board that would research, review, and establish affordable costs for the most expensive prescription drugs. 

Statement from CoPIRG Advocate Allison Conwell:

“The Colorado House should follow the lead of the Colorado Senate and approve SB21-175. 

Coloradans, like many Americans, are paying too much for prescription drugs. According to a study released by the Rand Corporation this year, Americans are paying over 2.5 times what people in other countries are paying for the same drugs.

Furthermore, The high cost of paying for life-saving medications places significant financial burden on Coloradans. Nearly one in three Coloradans struggle to afford prescription drugs, and many Coloradans have to choose between paying for prescription drugs and paying for their other basic needs, like rent and food.

If passed, the Prescription Drug Affordability Board would research, review, and establish affordable costs for the most expensive and unaffordable prescription drugs. The Board would also investigate and review when drug companies sharply increase the price of a specific drug.

This Board is a common-sense consumer protection measure. CoPIRG has stood against price gouging in many forms for decades, and we are against price gouging of prescription drugs. We need to reign in price gouging of life-saving prescription drugs and protect Colorado consumers.”