Insulin prices and other drugs could drop in 2023 if the state passes two bills, which had public hearings by the Washington State Senate Health & Long Term Care Committee on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 5532 would establish the Prescription Affordability Board, said Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines. She advanced similar legislation to the governor’s desk in 2020, but it was vetoed when the pandemic ramped up and the legislature scrambled to respond.

The board would identify prescription drug prices above a certain threshold and determine whether upper payment limits are needed. The bill requires the Department of Revenue to impose penalties on increased revenue for some prescriptions.

“A Prescription Drug Affordability Board is a practical way,” Kieser said, “to reduce costs to the state and to patients and to pursue value in prescriptions.”

Read more here.