Think Out Loud

Bill aims to make prescription drug prices more affordable in Oregon

By Allison Frost (OPB)
April 26, 2021 4:36 p.m.

Broadcast: Monday, April 26


The State of Oregon hopes to put downward pressure on drug prices with its new price transparency program.

In this file photo a pharmacist is pictured with presciption medication in an Oregon pharmacy.

Kristian Foden-Vencil / OPB

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A bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers is sponsoring a bill that would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. The board would have the power to set a maximum price buyers in the state could pay for some drugs. The goal is to reduce prices for consumers. But critics, including the Oregon Society of Health-System Pharmacists, say the proposal will not have the intended results and that federal regulation is needed. Our guests are Sen. Deb Patterson, (D-Salem) and Mike Millard, legislative affairs chair for the Oregon Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

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