A key state lawmaker says that the push for Oregon to set price caps on increasingly costly prescription drugs will have to wait.
State Sen. Deb Patterson, a Salem Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Care Committee, told The Lund Report she has dropped plans to introduce a bill this session that would let an appointed board limit how much government and private insurance pay for certain prescription drugs.
The price caps have been a goal for Patterson since she first took office in 2021. Responding to a national push by consumer advocates and health insurance companies, several states have moved toward setting price caps, though none have been implemented yet.
Patterson cited a lack of clear agreement on the Oregon Prescription Drug Affordability Board, which would be tasked with the complicated process of identifying prescription medications that are deemed excessively costly and capping their prices.
“This work is too challenging to not have consensus,” she said.
Hearing shows divide over price caps
Ralph Magrish, the top staffer to the board, has pushed aggressively for the price caps and has dismissed concerns raised by pharmaceutical companies and their patient-group allies as “chicken little” and “fear mongering.”
At a hearing of the Senate Health Care Committee in December, he tried to preemptively respond to criticism by drugmakers that the caps did not account for the complexities of drug pricing.
“That complexity is by design to extract maximum profit throughout the ecosystem,” he said. He added that making the system a “little less complicated and a lot more transparent” would help.
Late last year, the board finalized a report from a consultant it hired to help develop a plan for price caps. The report stopped short of a ringing endorsement for the idea, saying the savings from caps were “indeterminate” and acknowledging uncertainty among pharmacies, safety net clinics and patients about unintended consequences.
The report also noted that caps were likely to draw a lawsuit from the pharmaceutical industry. A board member last year likened the price caps to “kicking a hornet’s nest.”
During the December legislative hearing, under questioning from Republican lawmakers, board Chair Shelley Bailey was noncommittal when asked if she supports price caps.
“I support various solutions on how to improve drug affordability,” she said. “That’s my personal perspective. I don’t speak for the board, but I certainly appreciate and value the work that we do together to help improve drug affordability for Oregonians.”
Bailey, the former owner of Central Drugs pharmacy in downtown Portland, currently serves as CEO of Famlee, a national fertility services company that offers at-home testing, telehealth appointments and prescription drug delivery.
Bailey and Magrish did not respond to requests for comment from The Lund Report.
Other states are considering drug price caps
A national survey released last year by West Health-Gallup Healthcare Affordability Index found that nearly a third of respondents were concerned about their ability to pay for prescription drugs, up from a quarter in 2022.
Oregon is one of 11 states that have set up prescription drug affordability boards. Boards in Maryland, Minnesota, Washington and Colorado have the authority to enact price caps on prescription drugs, but none have successfully used it.
Last year, Colorado’s board was the first to declare Enbrel, which is used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, unaffordable. Amgen, the drug’s maker, responded with a lawsuit.
Maryland’s board, which only has authority over state health plans, approved a process last year that could lead to price caps.
Patterson said that another reason she is not introducing drug price cap legislation this year is to see how things work for Colorado and Maryland.
Drugmakers and allied patient groups oppose
A survey of Oregonians conducted for Healthcare Value Hub, an advocacy group, last year found that about half were somewhat or very worried about being able to afford the cost of prescription drugs. Additionally, the survey found that 27% of respondents had to ration their medications because of the cost.
Drug makers’ trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, has criticized the work of the drug affordability boards in Oregon and elsewhere, often echoed by patient advocacy groups that receive significant funding from the manufacturers.
In an email to The Lund Report, the group’s spokesperson, Reid Porter, focused on the role of insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies and health plans, in high drug costs.
In recent meetings of the Oregon drug board, updates on legislation have been delivered without any discussion of a price caps bill.
This month, however, the Oregon Coalition for Affordable Prescriptions, which includes health insurance companies, consumer groups and unions, submitted written testimony encouraging the board to press forward with the price caps.
“You have both the authority and the responsibility to challenge excessive drug pricing,” it said. “This is your opportunity to deliver real relief to Oregon patients, especially the most vulnerable in our communities. We urge you to move forward now—without hesitation.”
Patterson said she likely will not introduce price-cap legislation until the Legislature’s next long session in 2027.
You can reach Jake Thomas at [email protected] or at @jthomasreports on X.
