SPRINGFIELD — With 11 days remaining in their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers are considering legislation that would create a state panel empowered to review the costs of prescription drug prices and whether medicine is inaccessible to those who need it the most.

The bill to establish a Prescription Drug Affordability Board is part of a broader push by Democrats to address an affordability crisis that has rocked Illinois and the rest of the country. But opponents argue the panel would do little to actually lower prices while creating new layers of bureaucracy in state government. The bill passed 8-4 along party lines Wednesday in the House Executive Committee and now awaits a vote by the full House.

Supporters see the board as a vehicle to rein in runaway drug costs, a politically charged issue that the federal government has also begun to address through Biden-era provisions taking effect this year.

Democratic state Rep. Nabeela Syed of Palatine, a main sponsor of the bill, called it “a heavily, heavily negotiated bill” during a committee hearing Wednesday. The bill was filed last week after an earlier version didn’t move forward on the House floor last month.

If created, the five-member board — appointed by the governor — would have authority to evaluate the cost of most prescription drugs, determine whether prices are unreasonably high and set upper payment limits, essentially capping what consumers pay. Pharmaceutical companies would have the opportunity to justify their prices before a cap is set. The board would also be charged with improving access to medication, particularly in rural and low-income communities.

A central focus of the legislation is tying Illinois drug prices to Medicare’s new negotiating power under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. Beginning this year, Medicare — which covers people 65 and older and those with disabilities — negotiated lower prices for 10 high-cost drugs. The results for Januvia, a diabetes medication, meant a drop from $527 to $113 for a 30-day supply, while Enbrel, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, fell from $7,106 to $2,355, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Under Syed’s bill, those Medicare-negotiated rates would automatically become the upper payment limits for Illinois consumers across all healthcare plans. Medicaid and certain state employee health insurance programs would, for technical reasons, need to opt in separately.

The board would not be permitted to further cut prices on drugs already negotiated through Medicare but could work to ensure those drugs reach patients who need them.

Anusha Thotakura, executive director of Citizen Action/Illinois, a progressive policy group championing Syed’s legislation, cited an April study from her organization showing the difference in costs between the 10 drugs affected by the negotiated Medicare rate and said that the state of Illinois overpays for those drugs by more than $190 million. Opponents have disputed that figure, but Thotakura said it still illustrates a significant problem.

“We’re in a very tight budget year here. People are talking about all kinds of cuts to important services,” she said after Wednesday’s hearing. “We’re looking for revenue, but look at where we’re overpaying in this regard.”

Under the legislation, the board members must show an expertise in the healthcare, pharmacy and clinical medicine spaces, but they can’t be “an employee of, a Board member of, or a consultant to a manufacturer or trade association for manufacturers.” The members would serve five-year terms, except that the initial members’ terms would be staggered. They would be assisted by a 15-member council, of which five members would be appointed by the governor, six by the House speaker and Senate president, and four by the minority leaders in each chamber.

Board decisions could be appealed and even subject to judicial review. The bill also says the Illinois attorney general’s office “may” enforce the measure governing the board, but Syed said any shortcomings in the law can be addressed by the Illinois General Assembly, including the Legislative Audit Commission.

About a dozen states have active PDABs, though some states have more comprehensive boards than others. States like Colorado, Minnesota and Maryland, which in 2019 became the first state to enact legislation establishing a PDAB, authorized their boards to set so-called upper payment limits for a drug.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which opposes the Illinois bill, has argued that none of the roughly dozen active prescription drug affordability boards operating in other states have produced measurable savings for patients.

Peter Fotos, PhRMA’s deputy vice president for state advocacy, told the Illinois House committee Wednesday that the Medicare drug pricing framework “was never intended to be applied at the state level and its structure does not align with how state Medicaid programs, commercial markets or pharmacy networks operate.”

Deputy Republican leader Ryan Spain of Peoria, who also opposes the bill, raised bureaucratic and operational concerns, including the lack of a state agency to oversee the board.

“If this bill passes … we’re going to inherit this mess that you’ve created with this legislation and have to deal with it because … if you want to characterize this board as sort of a minor operating body then it needs to be aligned with a parent organization in state government that can help it,” Spain said in committee.

Syed testified that she didn’t see the need for the board to fall under a specific state agency. She also said the board would only need $750,000 in operational expenses.

“This board does operate independently. It’s free of conflict of interest,” she said. “Truthfully, I just don’t see the need for it to be housed in a department.”

A spokesperson for Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker would not say whether the governor supports creating a prescription drug board, other than to say his office is reviewing the proposal.

Meanwhile, the legislature passed another affordability-themed bill on Wednesday, this one championed by Pritzker.

The Senate, in a 46-12 vote, approved a measure to ban so-called “junk fees,” declaring it illegal “for a person to advertise, display, or offer a price for goods or services that does not include all mandatory fees or surcharges.” The bill now goes to Pritzker’s desk for his signature.