On Feb. 4, The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press published a column by the Rare Access Action Project’s Michael Eging that attempted to mislead Virginians about the impact of bills that would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (“Drug board plan could undermine rare disease treatments”). Eging’s column hinged on the pharmaceutical industry’s scare tactic of threatening to abandon those with rare diseases if the companies are forced to sell their drugs for fair prices.
This claim is ridiculous on its face. Pharmaceutical profit margins are some of the highest in the country and these companies spend more on the ads you see on TV than they do on research and development. Pfizer made $100 billion in revenue in 2022 while its CEO made $33 million
They have plenty of money to invest in rare disease research.
But, more importantly, Big Pharma companies want to keep the status quo in place — a status quo that forces Virginians to choose between filling their prescriptions and other basic necessities.
As the president of the NAACP Hampton Branch, I am aware that while the high cost of health care affects everyone, it hits Black and Latino communities the hardest. The reality is that due to a history of discriminatory practices, people of color are more likely to have chronic diseases and health conditions that require ongoing drug treatment, such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, obesity and asthma.
That’s why, unlike the pharmaceutical industry and its lobbyists, I am supporting House Bill 570 and Senate Bill 274 to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in Virginia. Prescription drugs are one of the major contributors to the cost of health care in the United States.
The realities are shocking. The Kaiser Family Foundation found that Black adults were 12% more likely than white adults to have asthma in 2020, Black women were 12% more likely than white women to have had breast cancer and Black men were 52% more likely to have been diagnosed with diabetes than white men. The medications that treat these conditions can be some of the most expensive on the market.
While also experiencing disproportionate levels of chronic illness and exposure to environmental pollutants, people of color in Virginia are more likely to have low household incomes than white Virginians, making all prescription costs harder to afford. In addition, Virginians of color are significantly more likely to be uninsured or underinsured compared to their white counterparts.
Black and Latino Medicare beneficiaries over age 65 were 1.5 times as likely to report out-of-pocket prescription drug cost challenges than white Medicare beneficiaries. They were twice as likely to forego medication access because of high drug costs.
It’s time to finally address the skyrocketing cost of prescription drugs and the Prescription Drug Affordability Board is the way to do that. I appreciate Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, and Del. Karrie Delaney, D-Fairfax, for championing this legislation.
This legislation is supported not only by the NAACP but the AARP Virginia, the Virginia Catholic Conference, the Virginia Association of Counties and the Commonwealth Council on Aging.
A recent poll from AARP found three-quarters of Virginia voters want their legislators to pass a PDAB, including 85% of Democrats, 71% of Republicans and 70% of Independents. A 2022 Mason-Dixon poll showed similar support for the proposal in the six regions of the commonwealth. This is unsurprising, given the growing cost of living that we all feel.
Let’s be clear: Pharmaceutical companies are going to keep investing in new drugs for rare diseases, no matter what. They are just attempting to keep the status quo in place to keep raking in record profits. I am calling on all members of the General Assembly to support HB570 and SB274 and make bringing down the cost of medicine for all Virginians a priority.
Gaylene Kanoyton is the president of the NAACP Hampton Branch.