Drug affordability advocates are working to increase the power of a board that can set upper payment limits on medications in Maryland.

The state’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board was created and 2019 and has the ability to set upper payment limits on drugs for state and local government health plans.

However, a new piece of legislation would expand the board’s jurisdiction to set those limits for all plans in Maryland.

The limits are a solid monetary topline that insurers in the state will not pay more than for a specific drug.

The legislation would also appropriate $1 million to the board in 2025 to continue its work.

Top officials in Maryland like Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olsewski, medical experts and faith leaders also testified in favor of the bill Wednesday before the Senate Finance Committee.

“We have to take this a step further,” Scott said. “This is a widespread issue with over half of Marylanders concerned with the prices of prescription drugs. Baltimoreans have made it very clear that it's an important issue to them.”

About 25% of Americans have trouble affording their prescription drugs due to high out-of-pocket costs, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Americans spend an average of $1,300 a year on their prescription medications. That’s compared to about $550 for other comparable countries.

“The idea behind these boards is for states to think about what a fair price would be that can increase access to these drugs for patients within the state,” said Rachel Sachs a professor of health law at Washington University in St. Louis.

Maryland’s board is in the process of conducting cost reviews of a handful of drugs they think may be overpriced.

For example, generic drugs that increased in price by 200% over the last year, generic drugs that cost more than $100 a month or brand name drugs that launch at $30,000 or more a year.

During the review the board will look at 10 factors like available discounts, alternatives to the drug and the cost to health plans.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is currently suing the White House for its attempts to rein in expensive drugs.

The Inflation Reduction Act allows the government to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers on prices for Medicare recipients.

Drug companies say the negotiations will cause a drop in profits and reduce the ability to formulate new, groundbreaking drugs.