DENVER — The following statement was issued by Lucy Westerfield, deputy executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now, after the Colorado Senate passed SB 21-175, which would establish a prescription drug affordability board designed to deliver relief to Coloradans suffering from high drug prices:
“For far too long, Coloradans have faced the outrageous prices of prescription drugs, forcing many to skip doses of their medications or simply go without. We applaud the Colorado Senate for passing SB 21-175, which would offer relief to Colorado patients by creating a prescription drug affordability board that reins in high prices. On behalf of patients, we urge the Colorado House to move quickly to advance this bill.”
Background:
- SB 21-175 would create a prescription drug affordability board that would:
- Perform affordability reviews of prescription drugs.
- Establish upper payment limits for prescription drugs that are determined to be unaffordable for Coloradans.
- Investigate, review, and establish more affordable prices for the most expensive and unaffordable prescription drugs.
- Investigate and review when drug companies sharply increase the price of a specific drug.
- Colorado patient Kris Garcia, who lives with multiple bleeding disorders including hemophilia, advocated for SB 21-175 at a recent press conference. Garcia relies on a medication called Humate-P, which costs $10,000 per vial.
- SB 21-175 will head next to the Colorado House in the coming weeks.
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