SB 271 Virginia Senate · 2026 Regular Session

Prescription Drug Affordability Board; established.

Summary

Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel established; maximum fair price; annual reports; civil penalties. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Resources to establish the Prescription Drug Affordability Advisory Panel to conduct data analyses, develop policy recommendations, and identify implementation barriers related to strategies to improve prescription drug affordability, enhance price transparency, and strengthen data collection practices for prescription drugs across public and private payers. The bill requires the Panel to (i) report annually on prescription drug pricing trends and any policy recommendations on legislation to improve prescription drug affordability and (ii) provide quarterly updates on prescription drug pricing trends. The bill requires each pharmacy benefits manager to provide to the Panel, upon request, certain information relating to the dispensation of a referenced drug, as defined in the bill.The bill prohibits prescription drug manufacturers or wholesale distributors permitted or licensed in the Commonwealth from accepting payment at an amount higher than the maximum fair price established by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to federal law for the sale of a referenced drug intended for use by individuals in the Commonwealth. Under the bill, an entity that violates such prohibition is subject to a civil penalty of $10,000 per violation. The bill also prohibits a manufacturer subject to its provisions from removing a referenced drug from sale distribution in the Commonwealth for the purpose of avoiding the impact of the bill's rate limitations without providing certain prior notice. Under the bill, a manufacturer that violates such prohibition on removing a referenced drug without the required notice is subject to a civil penalty equal to the greater of $100,000 or the total amount of annual savings for the referenced drug, as determined by the Board of Pharmacy. This bill is identical to HB 483.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status vetoed 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2026

Committee Review

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House of Delegates Passage

Mar 2026

Vetoed

Apr 2026

Introduced Jan 12, 2026 Vetoed Apr 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

Delegate Delaney Substitute → Governor Substitute · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was amended from a House Substitute to a Governor Substitute, primarily changing the bill's title to include a new 'report' requirement and reorganizing the legislative text to add a new section defining key terms. The substantive policy content regarding the All-Payer Claims Database and prescription drug pricing appears largely unchanged in this excerpt, though the new definitions section clarifies terms like 'Actual reimbursement amount' and 'Health care provider' for the first time.

Scope change

The bill's scope was slightly expanded by adding a new section (32.1-276.3) dedicated to definitions, which clarifies the terminology used throughout the new chapters. The title was also updated to reflect this addition.

DEFINITION

A new section (32.1-276.3) was added to explicitly define critical terms such as 'Actual reimbursement amount,' 'Board,' 'Consumer,' 'Covered lives,' 'ERISA plan,' 'Health care provider,' 'Health maintenance organization,' and 'Maximum fair price.'

ENFORCEMENT

The bill title was updated to include 'report,' indicating a new reporting requirement was added, likely related to the maximum fair price provisions or the advisory panel's activities.

TECHNICAL

The bill's metadata was updated to reflect it is now a 'Senate Substitute' proposed by the Governor on April 13, 2026, rather than a 'House Substitute' proposed by Delegate Delaney on March 10, 2026.

Floor votes · Senate Feb 4, 2026 · House of Delegates Mar 10, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed

Total votes 39

Feb 4, 2026

D Democratic20

20 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican19

19 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Apr 13, 2026

Vetoed

Governor's recommendation received by Senate

executive

Mar 31, 2026

Lower · Passed

Signed by Speaker

lower

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Signed by President

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Upper · Passed

Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB271ER)

upper

Mar 10, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed House with substitute (95-Y 4-N 0-A)

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by for the day

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Passed by temporarily

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Introduced

Floor offered Delegate Delaney Amendments

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported from Appropriations (17-Y 5-N)

lower

Feb 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Appropriations

lower

Feb 11, 2026

Committee

Assigned HAPP sub: Health & Human Resources

lower

Feb 6, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read third time and passed Senate (31-Y 8-N 0-A)

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Introduced

Engrossed by Senate as amended (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Commerce and Labor Amendments agreed to

upper

Feb 4, 2026

Upper · Passed

Passed by for the day Block Vote (Voice Vote)

upper

Feb 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Finance and Appropriations (9-Y 5-N 1-A)

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported from Commerce and Labor with amendments and rereferred to Finance and Appropriations (10-Y 4-N 1-A)

upper

Jan 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate committee offered

upper

Jan 22, 2026

Committee

Rereferred from Education and Health to Commerce and Labor (14-Y 0-N)

upper

Jan 12, 2026

Committee

Referred to Committee on Education and Health

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor