Maryland Senate Overrides Governor’s Veto Over Funding for Prescription Drug Board

Maryland’s state Senate has voted to overrule Gov. Larry Hogan’s veto of a bill to fund the state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB), an independent entity meant to cap prices for costly drugs in the state by 2022.

The Senate’s action doesn’t mean the funding bill will now become law in Maryland. The House of Delegates must also take up the matter and override Gov. Hogan’s veto, as a three-fifths vote from both chambers is required for a vetoed bill to be enacted.

In vetoing the funding bill last May, Gov. Hogan argued that Maryland’s economy had been battered by the coronavirus pandemic and that it would be “unconscionable” to enact legislation that he said would lead to higher taxes and increased spending (DID, May 11, 2020).

Though Maryland was the first state to create such a board, others have followed suit, including Maine, Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, while New Jersey and Pennsylvania have introduced legislation that would establish such boards, according to Manatt, a consulting firm that is tracking the issue at the state level.

Like the Maryland bill, most prescription drug board legislation establishes upper-payment limits and often includes other provisions, such as allowing wholesale prescription drug imports and new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers.

The pharma industry is decidedly against the concept of PDABs. “We agree that healthcare should be more affordable for patients who are struggling, but government price-setting through an unelected, unaccountable board is the wrong approach,” said Nick McGee, senior director of public affairs for PhRMA.

The Maryland board “could have unintended consequences on future innovation and there is no guarantee that it will save patients money at the pharmacy counter,” he said.

As states increasingly pursue new ways to limit drug prices, progress at the federal level has been harder to achieve and Congress has so far failed to pass equivalent drug-pricing measures.

Among other pricing initiatives, the Biden administration is expected to advocate for direct negotiations between HHS and drugmakers to reduce prices for seniors under the Medicare Part D program (DID, Jan. 19). ― Jason Scott