Massive bipartisan majorities voted to pass the Affordable Medicine Act that Gov. Abigail Spanberger is signaling today that she plans to veto.
State Sen. Creigh Deeds, D-Charlottesville, one of the authors of the legislation, which would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to review prescription drug prices and set payment ceilings on what certain state-regulated health plans can pay, said on Tuesday that Spanberger called him to tell him that she was planning to veto the bills.
What’s going on here, right?
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First, we saw the supposed Democrat in the governor’s office water down paid family and medical leave legislation, and then, she vetoed a bill that would require local governments to recognize public-sector employee collective-bargaining rights.
And now, she’s vetoing the Affordable Medicine Act, which even had the support of most Republicans – the bill passed the House of Delegates by a 95-4 vote, and passed the State Senate by a 34-6 vote.
These were bigger majorities than had voted in favor of the legislation each of the past two years, when we saw Glenn Youngkin veto those measures.
ICYMI
Two vetoes of this from Youngkin, and now, a veto from Spanberger.
Make it make sense!
“This is more than just a veto of a piece of legislation; this is the governor showing her true priorities and betraying the message she’s been touting since her time in Congress, that she wants to lower the cost of medicine,” the nonprofit advocacy group Freedom Virginia said in a statement released on Tuesday.
“Similar legislation was vetoed under the previous governor, each time vetoed with a statement that parrots Big Pharma talking points, and today is no different,” the statement said.
Aha, to the heart of the matter.
It’s obvious why Big Pharma would push back at something called a Prescription Drug Affordability Board. The legislation got massive bipartisan majorities because of the projected $100 million annual savings for Virginians.
If we’re saving $100 million, that means somebody’s losing out on $100 million, and guess who that would be?
Freedom Virginia pointed us to how Big Pharma was “a major donor to her inauguration” – the link spells out a $50,000 contribution to the Spanberger inaugural committee from an entity that calls itself Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America.
That one literally shortens its name, for branding purposes, to PhRMA.
Per the PhRMA website, under its “Our Agenda” page:
“The United States leads the world in biopharmaceutical innovation. Unfortunately, our inefficient system is costing Americans more than it should and limiting our ability to focus on keeping people healthy. Price setting creates more bureaucracy and threatens future cures without helping most patients. We need to defend American leadership – preserving jobs, access to cures and future innovation.”
That $50,000 was well-spent.
“The veto is baffling, given Gov. Spanberger’s past support for the Inflation Reduction Act – the legality of which was affirmed by the Supreme Court just this week – which allows Medicare to negotiate lower prices for high-cost prescription drugs,” AARP Virginia State Director Jim Dau said in a statement.
“This decision is even more troubling because the Affordable Medicine Act passed with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Dau said. “Lawmakers from both parties united to address one of the most pressing concerns facing their constituents: the cost of prescription drugs. Recent polling found that 82 percent of Virginia voters supported this legislation, and previous AARP research shows that more than one-third of Virginians have skipped filling a prescription due to cost.
“AARP and other advocates have worked with bipartisan legislative champions on this issue for years, and we will not be deterred. We will continue fighting for meaningful solutions to lower prescription drug costs for all Virginians,” Dau said.
Who would have thought that they’d have to fight not only Big Pharma, but also the current governor, to get lower prescription drug costs?
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Chris Graham
