West Virginia Prescription Drug Transparency Website Goes Live

This week, West Virginia State Auditor John B. McCuskey, legislative leaders and officials from AARP West Virginia held a press conference to announce the addition of a prescription drug transparency function to the Auditor's existing transparency website - wvcheckbook.gov. 

Information will be posted about each prescription drug sold in West Virginia, including costs to produce, current drug prices, why some prices are increasing and a list of those that have increased, drugs that have lost their patent rights and the costs related to research and development.

"In 2020, the West Virginia Legislature passed Senate Bill 689 which required pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, and companies that issue health benefit plans to submit those health plans and drug pricing information to the State Auditor's Office to be posted on the state transparency website," McCuskey said. "This is increasingly important data for our aging population that relies on these drugs for a variety of healthcare needs. An informed consumer base allows for real-time accountability and fairness in pricing across the prescription drug market, while also providing a window of information to each consumer in West Virginia."

The skyrocketing prices of prescription drugs affect almost everyone, putting a strain not only on family budgets, but on state budgets as well. In 2020, AARP urged state lawmakers to take more action to make prescription drugs more accessible and affordable by increasing transparency to shed a light on the reasons behind rising drug prices.

By requiring the pharmaceutical industry to provide specific information about their pricing practices, transparency laws encourage manufacturers to consider their standard practice of setting high prices when a drug first hits the market and then increasing those prices year after year. The principle behind this legislation is that greater disclosure around market pricing will help drive down costs and bring some parity to the marketplace, particularly for older citizens who face the greatest challenges with rising prescription drug costs.

"Prescription transparency laws bring accountability for drug manufacturers and provide West Virginia consumers with advance warning of increases in their drug costs, allowing them to seek lower cost alternatives with their health providers," said Senator Ryan Weld (R - Brooke, District 1), a co-sponsor of the legislation.

AARP West Virginia worked aggressively to pass Senate Bill 689, the Requiring Accountable Pharmaceutical Transparency, Oversight, and Reporting Act – which requires drug manufacturers who sell prescription drugs in West Virginia to provide cost information, changes in cost information, and prescription drug statistics to the West Virginia State Auditor's Office for publication - at no additional cost to the state or taxpayer - on a searchable transparency

The legislation received overwhelming support in the West Virginia Legislature, with 33-0 approval by the West Virginia Senate and 99-0 approval by the West Virginia House of Delegates. 

Nearly 90 percent of West Virginia's 1.8 million residents take at least one prescription medication on a regular basis, according to a statewide survey conducted for AARP by Mark Blankenship Enterprises, a West Virginia-based opinion research firm. More than half of our state's residents report taking between two and five different prescription medications on a regular basis.

AARP believes it is unfair that we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world, and unacceptable that anyone should ever have to choose between filling their prescriptions and buying food. Consumer access to prescription drug pricing information will bring accountability for drug manufacturers and provide West Virginians with the data they need to make informed healthcare decisions.