Published: 3/18/2023 7:00:21 AM
New Hampshire citizens know all too well that prescription drugs can be expensive due to factors such as limited competition within the industry and lack of citizen oversight. Last session, RSA 126 was signed into New Hampshire law to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) that provides oversight for prescription drug costs for our state and municipal employees. The intent is to ensure that prescription drug prices are reasonable; thus saving NH tax dollars. Unfortunately, our legislature has never funded the PDAB so tax savings on prescription drugs is at a standstill. It is baffling why there is any resistance to saving tax dollars and ensuring that prescription drug prices for public payers are fair.
The role of the PDAB is to “determine annual spending targets for prescription drugs purchased by public payers based upon a 10-year rolling average of the medical care services component of the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, medical care services index, plus a reasonable percentage for inflation and minus a spending target for pharmacy savings as determined by the board.” This seems like a fair process. However, HB 130 was recently introduced by a handful of state lawmakers to completely repeal RSA 126 and its opportunities to reduce taxes and the cost of some prescription drugs for public payers. Please urge your state representative to vote against HB 130 and allow the PDAB to do its job of saving Granite State taxpayers money.
Richard Moore
Chichester