Governor looks to form board to monitor drug prices

DENVER (KDVR) — One in three people on prescription drugs in Colorado is struggling to pay for them, according to estimates from the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. That’s part of the reason why the governor is supporting an effort at the capitol to keep medicine affordable.

“We know, Americans know, we are sick and tired of being ripped off on this,” Governor Jared Polis said at a press conference Monday.

Tired of high prescription prices, Polis is hoping lawmakers pass a measure to create a prescription drug affordability board.

“It will be made up of non-partisan experts, drug evaluation experts if you will. It has the potential of saving Coloradans as much as 75% on most unaffordable drugs,” said Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis of Boulder.

The board of five people would be selected by the governor. The goal is to keep prices low for doctors like Kyle Leggott.

“As physicians, an increasing amount of our time is spent not on our patients but on trying to find solutions to problems that shouldn’t exist,” Leggott said.

The main focus of this initiative is to reduce the costs for Coloradans like Kris Garcia. Garcia needs several prescriptions to treat multiple health issues.

“To manage my bleeding, I rely on a medication called Humate-P. Each vial of Humate-P cost $10,000 a bottle. I require four vials of this drug every time I get an infusion. These shocking costs are just one of the many drugs I need,” Garcia said.

The board would set payment limits for drugs that meet certain increase thresholds in Colorado. Once board members are appointed, they can make suggestions for lawmakers to introduce more bills to help keep the prices low.