The Oregon Prescription Drug Affordability Board will arrive in Medford this week to seek the public’s input about soaring costs of prescription drugs.

The board will use public comments on the costs of specific prescription drugs as a guide when working on the state’s first plan for establishing price limits on prescription drug costs in Oregon. Medford is the fourth stop for the board after forums in Portland, Lincoln City and Woodburn were held earlier this month. Another forum will be held Tuesday, April 30, in Bend.

The Medford forum is 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at the Rogue Community College Higher Education Center, 101 S. Bartlett St., Medford. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided. Lou Savage, a past director of the Department of Consumer Business Affairs and former insurance commissioner of Oregon, will be the moderator.

Prescription costs can make it challenging for Oregonians to access the health care they need. A 2021 survey of more than 900 Oregonians found that one in four adults opted to either not fill a prescription, cut pills in half or skip a dose because they couldn’t afford the medication.

Oregon lawmakers created the prescription drug affordability board through Senate Bill 844, which passed in 2021 and charged the board with making recommendations to lawmakers. In 2023, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 192, which directed the board to develop a plan with public input on establishing price limits.

“This will allow us to bring back a plan and pathway that will create public value for Oregonians and help address drug affordability in our state in the most meaningful and inclusive way possible,” Ralph Magrish, the board’s executive director, said in a statement.

Under the law, the board is required to submit the plan to legislators by Sept. 15 and include information such as the methodology for limiting costs, enforcement and and impact on the state, health insurers, hospitals, pharmacies and consumers.

There will also be two online-only forums from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8, and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14. Go to dfr.oregon.gov/pdab/pages/index.aspx for information about how to log in to those meetings. Spanish and American Sign Language interpretation will provided for the online meetings

For more information, email pdab@dcbs.oregon.gov, or call 971-374-3724.