Maryland lawmakers are putting new urgency on a bill that will expand the state’s authority to put limits on what it will pay for prescription drugs.

The interest in passing the bill comes as the new Trump administration reversed a policy made by the Biden White House that allowed the federal government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare plans with pharmaceutical companies.

“As our state faces budge challenges and unknown threats from the Trump administration it is more important than ever that Maryland continues to lead the nation in addressing the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs,” said Sen. Dawn Gile (D-Anne Arundel County), the lead sponsor of the bill, said Tuesday at a Maryland Health Care For All! event in Annapolis.

The bill would expand the jurisdiction of Maryland’s Prescription Drug Affordability Board this year to allow the organization to negotiate pharmaceutical prices for private insurance plans in the state.

If drug companies don’t play ball, they will be banned from advertising drugs in Maryland.

Legislators tried to pass a similar bill last year, but it failed to make it to the governor's desk.

The General Assembly approved the Prescription Drug Affordability Board’s plan to set upper payment limits on drug prices under state and local health plans last October.

The upper payment limits are just one of the tools the board has to reduce drug costs, but it is the one with the most bite.

The Board is currently in the process of considering limits on six different drugs.

The drugs include the diabetes and weight loss medication Ozempic and Dupixent, a medication that’s used to treat asthma.