Louisiana, We Already Know the Problem

We know prescription drugs are too expensive.
We know our out-of-pocket costs keep climbing.
And we know the healthcare system feels like a maze that’s rigged against us.

What we don’t need is another government board to study it.

That’s exactly what Senate Bill 401 creates: a new Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). It builds another layer of government inside the Department of Insurance to collect pricing data, require more reports from drug companies, and publish annual studies on why drugs cost so much.

Patients aren’t asking for more studies.

We’re asking for relief.

A System That Studies Itself Instead of Fixing Itself

SB 401 assumes the biggest barrier to affordable medicine is a lack of information.

It isn’t.

The real barriers are the ones patients feel every single month:

• Insurance plans that keep shifting more costs onto us
• Middlemen who add layers of profit without adding value
• Providers and hospitals whose prices have little connection to patient outcomes
• Limited access to lower-cost options that could work just as well

None of these problems are addressed in SB 401.

It does not touch pharmacy benefit managers.
It does not reform health plans.
It does not change what patients actually pay at the pharmacy counter.

Instead, it focuses almost entirely on drug manufacturers by adding new reporting requirements and regulatory pressure while leaving the rest of the system untouched.

Instead, it focuses almost entirely on drug manufacturers by adding new reporting requirements and regulatory pressure, while leaving the rest of the system untouched.

That would make sense if drug manufacturers controlled what patients pay at the pharmacy counter.

But they don’t.

What patients actually pay is shaped by insurance design, pharmacy benefit managers, rebates, formularies, and cost-sharing structures that this bill does not address.

So while SB 401 collects more data from one part of the system, it still fails to capture the full picture and does nothing to change what patients experience when they go to fill a prescription.

That’s not reform.

That’s misdirection.

This Is a Costly Detour, Not a Solution

Boards like this sound like action.

In practice, they usually mean:

• More bureaucracy
• More compliance and reporting requirements
• More studies that never reach the patient

They also send a clear signal to innovators and employers: Louisiana is moving toward a more restrictive, government-driven approach to healthcare.

Even at this early stage, that matters.

Because these boards are often the first step toward price-setting policies. And when government starts setting prices, the consequences are predictable. Less investment, fewer treatment options, and harder choices for patients who rely on access to new therapies.

We’re already seeing this dynamic play out at the federal level.

More process.
More politics.
No relief for patients.

What Patients Actually Need

We don’t need another report telling us healthcare is expensive.

We need a system that works for patients, not around them.

That means focusing on what actually drives costs:

• What patients pay at the pharmacy counter and doctor’s office
• How insurance design shifts costs onto families
• The role of pharmacy benefit managers and opaque rebate systems
• Real competition and access to lower-cost care options

SB 401 does none of this.

It does not lower out-of-pocket costs.
It does not improve access.
It does not make the system easier to navigate.

That’s not transformation.

That’s delay.

The Bottom Line

SB 401 creates the appearance of action.

But for Louisiana families struggling to afford their medications right now, it changes nothing.

Patients don’t experience policy. They experience the consequences of it.

We don’t need another board studying the problem.
We are already living the problem every day.

It’s time to stop studying it and start fixing it. Patients are ready to step forward, share their stories, and be part of the solution.

Turn Frustration Into Action

Patients don’t experience policy. They experience the consequences of it.

And right now, too many patients are being asked to wait while the system studies problems we already understand.

It’s time to change that.

Patients are ready to bring their stories, their experiences, and their voices to the table—and demand solutions that actually lower costs and improve access.

👉 Share your story
👉 Join the Patients Rising community
👉 Learn how to advocate through our LEAD program

You don’t have to navigate this system alone.

Together, we can stop studying the problem—and start fixing it.