Division 3 discusses HB570 repeal of Prescription Drug Affordability Board, decides to retain for further review

Chairman (Division 3 Finance Committee) opened the work session to discuss House Bill 570, the Houseamendment that would repeal the Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). The chairman said he had served on the PDAB and told members the board has produced four annual reports but had not yet presented a clear business case for three proposed initiatives.

The chairman said the boardpublished its most recent annual report in the OctoberNovember timeframe and that the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) had criticized parts of the report as including material not publicly discussed by the board. He added that the boardhad reformatted Department of Insurance data to show top-priced drugs used in the state but that, in his view, the report offered "highly redundant" material and limited added value. He described three initiatives PDAB had identified and said his office and PDAB executive director David Williamson had been working to turn those into a "tight business case." The chairman said he would support the House position that repeals PDAB because the repeal carries no fiscal note, but he remained open to revising that view if PDAB presents a convincing business case.

Representative P. Priess asked the chairman to "entertain a motion to retain this until we get a better report" and to return with a product the committee could consider next week. Priess said he saw value in prescription-drug affordability programs and wanted time for the chair and PDAB staff to refine a business case. Representative Mooney, Representative Stringham and Representative Tullerski voiced similar concerns about timing and the need for clear, near-term returns on any taxpayer investment. Mooney noted that the governors proposed budget zeroed out the PDAB accounting unit and that the expected savings were roughly $550,000 over two years.

Members agreed to let the bill remain pending while staff continued work. The chairman said he would continue discussing possible statutory tweaks and business-case development with PDAB leadership, and the committee agreed to retain HB570 and revisit it in a short, formal executive meeting before the full finance committee vote. No formal recorded roll-call vote was taken during the work session.

The discussion closed with committee members emphasizing two points: (1) PDAB must produce a clear, short-term business case tied to measurable cost savings or benefits before members would support funding, and (2) retaining HB570 briefly preserves the committees options while allowing PDAB time to respond.