Patients Rising urges Governor Abigail Spanberger to veto SB271, legislation that would import federally negotiated drug prices into Virginia’s broader healthcare market through a new Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel.

While lowering prescription drug costs is an important goal shared by patients and policymakers alike, SB271 does not guarantee that Virginia patients will actually see lower costs when they fill a prescription.

“Virginia patients want real relief from the cost of their medicines,” said Terry Wilcox, Co-Founder and Chief Mission Officer of Patients Rising. “But this bill doesn’t guarantee lower costs at the pharmacy counter. If savings don’t reach patients there, the policy hasn’t solved the problem. Reporting savings is not the same as delivering savings to patients.”

The legislation does not require health plans to pass any potential savings directly to patients through lower copays or coinsurance at the pharmacy counter. Instead, it relies largely on reporting requirements that do not ensure patients will ever see those savings.

SB271 also attempts to extend Medicare’s Maximum Fair Price framework beyond the Medicare program and into Virginia’s broader healthcare market — a policy approach that raises serious questions about implementation, access, and potential unintended consequences for patients who rely on complex therapies and specialty pharmacy services.

Importing federal price caps designed for the Medicare program into a state healthcare system is an untested policy experiment that could disrupt provider reimbursement, pharmacy operations, and the complex supply chains patients depend on to access their medicines.

Virginians deserve policies that directly lower out-of-pocket costs while protecting access to the treatments their doctors prescribe.

For these reasons, Patients Rising urges Governor Spanberger to veto SB271.