This story was reported and written by VPM News.
In May of 2020, Shalonde Dozier-Calhoun, of Hampton, found out her teenage son Seth had a rare and aggressive form of kidney cancer.
The Hampton High School senior had renal medullary carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that mainly affects young people of African descent who carry a particular sickle cell trait or have sickle cell disease.
The cancer had already spread through Seth’s body, and doctors gave him just three months to live. But, Dozier-Calhoun said, “we refused to accept this as the end of his story.”
Seth's care included chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions and doses of drugs like belzutifan, which can cost patients roughly $25,000 out of pocket. Dozier-Calhoun said that Seth was insured through Medicaid, which helped cover the “overwhelming medical costs.”
Despite his fight, Seth Calhoun died seven months after his diagnosis, just two weeks after he graduated from high school. He was 17 years old.
After his death, Dozier-Calhoun began the “I FIGHT like Seth Alliance” to help families like hers advocate for lower prescription costs.
“Sadly, there are people and families across Virginia who can’t afford to fight like Seth,” she said. “I believe Virginia should explore the high cost of drugs.”
Dozier-Calhoun shared her story during a virtual press conference Thursday alongside Virginia lawmakers and health care advocates who are trying to create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board in the state during this year’s General Assembly session.
Del. Karrie Delaney (D–Fairfax) introduced legislation that would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to protect against pharmaceutical companies charging unreasonable prices for prescription drugs.
The board would consider the affordability of “prescription, generic and other drugs” offered for sale in the commonwealth and establish annual payment limit amounts for a maximum of 12 drugs per year between 2026 and 2029.
Medicare Part D plans would not be bound by the board’s decisions.She introduced similar legislation in 2023 and 2024. The 2023 bill died in committee. Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed Delaney’s 2024 bill and a similar one introduced by Sen. Creigh Deeds (D–Bath), citing concerns that the legislation could compromise patient welfare and stifle innovation.
Delaney criticized the pharmaceutical industry during the virtual press conference for fighting against a board. She said she’s reintroducing the legislation — despite Youngkin’s reservations — because it addresses the needs of Virginians and has continued to gain bipartisan support.
“This bill knows no politics,” Delaney responded when asked if she’d made changes to the legislation to address the governor’s concerns.
Delaney — who has a child with type 1 diabetes — said her family also struggles with covering the costs of prescription medicine.
“Until we find a cure, we’ll be dealing with expensive daily medications for the rest of their life,” she said. “And my family is not alone. A majority of Virginians have personally felt the negative effects of the rising cost of medicine.”
Jared Calfee, state advocacy director for AARP Virginia, also participated in the virtual press conference. “A prescription drug affordability board will protect consumers here in Virginia from dangerous price-gouging practices and help address the cost of some of the most expensive drugs on the market that treat life-threatening illnesses,” he said.
A 2023 AARP survey of the state found that over 66% of Virginians over 18 are taking prescription drugs. “These folks are struggling to pay for the medicine that they need, and they demand action,” Calfee said.
Prescription costs are rising, accounting for nearly 9% of nationwide health care spending in 2021 according to a study from the Center for American Progress.
Delaney said eight other states, including Maryland, Ohio and Colorado, have recently created similar affordability boards. She said there are over 7 million Virginians who aren’t covered by Medicare that could benefit from this legislation.
Copyright 2025 VPM
