DPC Urges West Virginia Governor to Veto 340B Expansion

The Domestic Policy Caucus today wrote to West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, urging him to veto SB 325, a bill that would expand the 340B federal prescription drug mandate in the state.

In the letter, DPC wrote, "Pharmacies are essential to the communities they serve. But in West Virginia and throughout America, rural independent drugstores are struggling. In a 2022 policy brief, the Rural Policy Research Institute reported this troubling fact: The number of independently owned retail pharmacies declined by 16 percent in the United States between 2003 and 2021. That has contributed to the appearance of what are called “pharmacy deserts”—areas where residents must drive more than 15 minutes to a drugstore. West Virginia Public Radio has reported that pharmacy deserts exist in Wirt, Ritchie, Doddridge, Pocahontas, and Pendleton Counties. S.B. 325 would exacerbate the problem for West Virginians."

Read the full letter here.