House Bill 2387 would require manufacturers to report research and development costs to the state. FrankieLeon/Flickr

Oregonians struggling to pay for prescriptions that cost thousands of dollars a month spoke out Friday in support of a legislative bill to cap drug prices.

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House Bill 2387 would require drug makers to notify the state of any cost increase more than 3.4 percent — that's the rate of health care inflation in Oregon. The bill would also protect anyone from having to pay drug costs exceeding that rate.

Pharmaceutical lobbyist Tara Ryan told committee chair Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, the bill would trigger other pricing schemes.

“This bill will not only impact Oregon. It will impact the United States and it could impact global access to medicine," she said. "This is an issue that should be dealt with at a federal level. And then we should look at the supply chain issues that could be handled in the state of Oregon."

Greenlick replied, “I have to say that’s not an argument against it in my mind, it would be an argument for it.”

Pharmaceutical companies argue their prices are necessary to pay for developing new drugs.

The bill would require manufacturers to report those research and development costs to the state.

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