The Democratic-controlled Senate passed legislation earlier this month that would let a newly-created state board place limits on the prices of prescription drugs they deem to be too expensive.

It’s a new darling policy of blue states that is being advertised as a way to slash pharmaceutical companies’ profits and put the money back in patients’ pockets.

In reality, it wouldn’t bring the relief supporters are promising it would in Michigan.

The proposed Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB) would add a new layer of healthcare bureaucracy while masking the real cost drivers in prescription drug pricing. And nowhere in the bills does it direct any savings the government would hypothetically be able to find back to patients.

While the list prices of prescription drugs were increasing by 13.5% in 2014, that growth slowed, falling to 4.9% through the first three quarters of 2022. Average list price increases have been below 5% for the past four years.

Inflation-adjusted list prices dropped by 3.4% in the first three quarters of 2022.

Despite more stability in pricing, prescription drugs can still be unaffordable, even for patients with quality insurance plans.

But in the six other states that have passed similar price fixing legislation, all since 2019, the cost of drugs has not gone down.

The bills would create a five-member board of appointees by the governor with the power to review prescription drug prices. If the board determines there are “affordability challenges,” meaning with insurance coverage or high out-of-pocket costs, it could establish an “upper payment limit” — also known as a price control — for a product.

Measures the board could take into consideration in price fixing include research on price increases, projected revenue, average patient co-pays and some cost-effectiveness measures that could determine length and quality of life for patients.

No government board should be deciding if a medicine can help a patient — or at what cost it’s worth it.