Prescription Drug Affordability Board

Learn about the Prescription Drug Affordability Board’s (PDAB) mission, members, and upcoming meetings.

PDAB Advisory Group application

The Washington State PDAB is seeking unpaid volunteer members for its Supplemental Advisory Group, focused on evaluating the drugs Enbrel and Xtandi. We are seeking the perspectives of any patients, patient advocates, providers, or other experts with experience related to Enbrel and Xtandi.

The Advisory Group serves at the direction of the PDAB. The goal of the Advisory Group is to provide guidance to the PDAB on the different components of drug affordability in Washington. The Advisory Group members will investigate each drug selected by the PDAB and provide a written report to the PDAB with their findings as to the drug’s affordability. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis. View PDAB Advisory Group Application.

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Overview

PDAB’s mission is to monitor and mitigate unsupported price increases of prescription drugs for Washingtonians.

PDAB is composed of three bodies:

  • A board appointed by the Governor, with expertise in health care economics or clinical medicine
  • A policy team within HCA tasked with advising and supporting the Governor’s board
  • Advisory groups composed of relevant stakeholders from across Washington, including patients, patient advocates, and experts

PDAB was established following passage of SB5532 by the Washington State Legislature in 2022.

Mission

PDAB is a five-member board tasked with the following duties:

  • Identify drugs that may be subject to an affordability review
  • Conduct affordability reviews on selected eligible drugs
  • Determine whether a prescription drug is unaffordable for Washington consumers
  • If a drug is found to be unaffordable, the Board may set an upper payment limit.

Resources

To date, the PDAB has used the requirements laid out in the authorizing legislation, Washington Administrative Code, and PDAB policies to create a list of eligible drugs for review. The PDAB is currently in the process of narrowing down this long list of eligible prescription drugs to a shortlist of drugs that will be selected for affordability review. The next steps in the process will be conducting affordability reviews on selected drugs. The drug dashboard provides resources to explore the list of eligible drugs. Once drugs are selected for review, the drug names will be listed on this website.

2025 PDAB meeting schedule

  • January 15, 2025
  • May 21, 2025
  • July 15, 2025 - Tuesday
  • November 19, 2025

PDAB meetings and materials

Date, time, and location Meeting materials

Date: July 15, 2025

Written public comments
May 21, 2025

Written public comments
January 15, 2025

Written public comments

Past PDAB meetings

2024
Date, time, and location Meeting materials

November 13, 2024

Written public comments
September 18, 2024

Written public comments
July 16, 2024

Written public comment
May 22, 2024

Written public comment

March 20, 2024

Written public comment

January 31, 2024

Written public comment
2023
Date, time, and location Meeting materials

December 11, 2023

October 20, 2023

PDAB Advisory Group meetings and materials

Date, time, and location Meeting materials
Date: August 12, 2025
Time: 2 - 4 p.m.
Online: Join the meeting
December 10, 2024

October 8, 2024

PDAB Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is nominated for service by the Governor. Four of five members have been appointed.

Hung Truong

Hung Truong is the executive director of Madrona Health, LLC., a joint venture between Virginia Mason Franciscan Health and Confluence Health. He earned his Pharm.D. from Washington State University and MBA from Western Governors University.

Leadership at Virginia Mason Medical Center

  • Retail pharmacy division
  • Ambulatory pharmacist team
  • Drug regulatory compliance
  • Self-funded health plan

In 2017, Hung launched the specialty pharmacy program that led to the formation of Madrona Health.

Dr. Douglas Barthold

Dr. Douglas Barthold is a health economist and research assistant professor in the Comparative Health Outcomes, Policy, and Economics (CHOICE) Institute at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy.

Career milestones

  • Ph.D. in Economics from McGill University with specialization in empirical health economics
  • Postdoctoral fellowship at the Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics at the University of Southern California

Dr. Barthold's research includes health policy, chronic disease management, and cognition from mid-life to end of life. He also researches the role of health policies in pharmaceutical management of mid-life risk factors for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and the value of care for conditions that influence health aging.

Learn more about Dr. Barthold's work.

Eileen Cody

Eileen Cody worked as a neuro-rehab nurse for Kaiser Permanente (formerly Group Health Cooperative) in Seattle for more than 40 years. She served constituents in the 11th and 34th districts as an elected representative from 1994-2022. Eileen earned an Associate Degree in Nursing from the College of Saint Mary and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Creighton University.

Career milestones

  • Washington State House of Representatives, 1994-2022
  • Founding member of District 1199 NW/SEIU Hospital and Health Care Employees Union
  • Health Care Cost Transparency Board
  • Harborview Hospital Board of Trustees
Greg Gipson

Greg Gipson has worked at UW Medicine since 2013, initially as a clinical pharmacist caring for critically ill patients with a wide variety of health conditions, and now focusing on drug policy and utilization. His current work aims to improve the use of medications to promote safer, more effective, and cost-conscious practices that result in improved health outcomes across the health system.

Career Milestones

  • PharmD degree from the University of California, San Francisco
  • Two years of residency (general and critical care) training at UW Medicine
  • Post-Graduate Year 1 Pharmacy Program Coordinator, UW Medicine
  • Drug Policy and Utilization Pharmacist, UW Medicine

Affordability reviews

Affordability review process webinar

A stakeholder webinar meeting was held to discuss the prescription drugs affordability review process.

Drugs selected for affordability review

The PDAB board selected the following drugs for affordability review and will be moving sequentially through the drugs:

  1. Enbrel
  2. Xtandi
  3. Cabometyx
  4. Humira

Stakeholder data request forms

Manufacturers

Payers

Pharmacy benefit managers

Wholesalers

About PDAB meetings

  • PDAB meetings will be held every other month and are open to the public.
  • Stakeholders will be allowed three minutes for comments.
  • Meetings are sponsored by the Health Care Authority and meet requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please call our ADA Coordinator at 1-855-682-0787 to make a request for special accommodations. TRS users may call this number through the Washington Relay Service by dialing 711.

Written testimony

If you would like to give testimony but cannot attend a meeting, email a one-page maximum testimony to HCA PDAB.

Meetings held by webinar

If you would like to speak on any topic listed on the agenda, email HCA PDAB by the Monday before the meeting date with:

  • Your name,
  • The organization you represent, and
  • The topic name on the agenda.

The committee chair will call these names after the topic is presented. You will be unmuted and have three minutes to speak.

If you do not sign up ahead of time but would like to speak at the meeting, the committee chair will ask if there are any other stakeholders. Raise your hand and you will be unmuted when your name is called.

Meetings held at HCA

Contact

For questions about the board
Email: HCA PDAB