PIPC Chairman Tony Coelho issued the following statement on the vetoes of HB 483 and SB 271 in Virginia.
I applaud Governor Spanberger for vetoing HB 483 and SB 271, legislation that put people with disabilities at risk due to its potential for devaluing disabled lives. The Partnership to Improve Patient Care (PIPC) shared the concerns of the disability community with policymakers that the bill would allow a prescription drug affordability board (PDAB) in the commonwealth of Virginia to reference quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), as we have seen in so many other states.
As Governor Spanberger stated alongside her veto, these board have been attempted in other states, and they have failed. In addition to failing to control costs, PDABs carry significant risks for exacerbating systemic barriers to care by devaluing disabled lives. PDABs in other states have relied on QALYs and other measures known to devalue disabled lives, despite the disability community’s continued opposition. At the federal level, Congress banned the use of QALYs and similar measures in Medicare in decision-making in an effort to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and from restricted access to care based on one-size-fits-all determinations of health care value. No patient or person with a disability is average. We look forward to future policy debates focusing on affordable access to care for people with disabilities and patients in a manner that is aligned with federal law and regulations governing disability nondiscrimination in health care.
We sincerely thank Governor Spanberger for hearing and acting on the disability community’s concerns regarding this legislation.
As Governor Spanberger stated alongside her veto, these board have been attempted in other states, and they have failed. In addition to failing to control costs, PDABs carry significant risks for exacerbating systemic barriers to care by devaluing disabled lives. PDABs in other states have relied on QALYs and other measures known to devalue disabled lives, despite the disability community’s continued opposition. At the federal level, Congress banned the use of QALYs and similar measures in Medicare in decision-making in an effort to protect people with disabilities from discrimination and from restricted access to care based on one-size-fits-all determinations of health care value. No patient or person with a disability is average. We look forward to future policy debates focusing on affordable access to care for people with disabilities and patients in a manner that is aligned with federal law and regulations governing disability nondiscrimination in health care.
We sincerely thank Governor Spanberger for hearing and acting on the disability community’s concerns regarding this legislation.
