Supporters of drug price effort say vote could rein in pharmaceutical industry

Advocates of a ballot proposal on prescription drug prices facing Ohio voters say they hope a win on the issue would kickstart a national movement on the issue.

Issue 2, which appears on next month’s general election ballot, would “require the State of Ohio, including its departments, agencies and entities, to not pay more for prescription drugs than the price paid by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.”

David P. Little, the public policy communications consultant and regional director for Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices, recently stopped by The Tribune to make the case for a “yes” vote on the proposal.

Little, who said Ohioans are paying “astronomical prices compared to other countries” for prescription drugs, said his organization, which is spearheading the campaign, is facing more than $50 million in television ads from those opposing the proposal.

“These are 100 percent bought by pharmaceutical companies,” Little said.  “They are terrified that if this issue, which is brought by voters, could pass, it would start a prairie fire across the U.S.”

Support for the proposal is funded mostly by the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation.

The issue is being put to Ohio voters after supporters were able to collect more than 194,000 signatures to meet the ballot requirement.

The Ohio group argues that the VA pays on average 20-24 percent less for drugs than what the average customer is charged, due to the agency being empowered by law to use its bargaining power in price negotiations, and argues passage would save Ohio $400 million per year.

The organization backed a similar proposal in California in 2016, which was defeated 50-46 percent.

Little said this was due to heavy advertising by the pharmaceutical industry.

“They’re seeing $711 billion in profits over the past decade,” he said. “They have no interest in being challenged.”

Little said a coalition has been assembled to advocate for passage, which includes liberal and progressive names such as U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, but also Matt Borges, who served as chairman of the Ohio Republican Party until earlier this year and is now a spokesman for the group.
Organizations backing the proposal include National Nurses United, Vote Vets and Ohio Academy Family Physicians.

To make its case, the group cites headlines such as Mylan Inc. generating controversy after raising the price of the EpiPen line of epinephrine autoinjector devices, used for treating allergies, by more than 500 percent in recent years.

Little said inaction on the issue having been due to the industry has “more than 2,000 lobbyists working in Congress today.”

“That’s three for every member, and they take care of them,” he said.

Little described the battle for the proposal as a “David vs. Goliath issue” and said the industry would “spend whatever it takes” to defeat it.

He said higher prescription prices have a ripple effect on the state.

“The costs get passed back through higher taxes and insurance rates, which creates social unrest,” he said.

Little said passage of the proposal would also send a message to the pharmaceutical industry, who he says is responsible for the opioid crisis in the region.

“They would no longer be rewarded,” he said. “They’ve addicted close to one million people in Ohio.”
He says high drug prices play a part in the epidemic.

“People can not afford the drugs prescribe to them and they’re self diagnosing,” Little said.

One of the groups opposing Issue 2 is the Ohio Pharmacists Association, which describes is mission as “to unite the profession of pharmacy, and encourage interprofessional relations while promoting public health through education, discussion and legislation.”

The group said the proposal could actually result in higher prices and said the language is built around “bad wording.”

“While Issue 2 would prohibit government programs from paying any more than VA prices for prescription drugs, there is no requirement that pharmacies be able to buy those drugs at the VA rates as well,” the group said in a statement on its website.

The group said there is also no requirement that pharmaceutical companies charge the same prices to all.

“So if the government and VA were to enjoy all the major discounts that are being sought by this ballot measure, pharmaceutical companies could just raise the prices for everyone else to offset those losses,” the group said.

Little said this fear “is only indicative of the weak position that all consumers are in now.”

“They can raise the price to whomever they want and whenever they want,” he said. “We pay the highest prices in the world. Their idea is that we have to vote to give big pharma whatever they want in order to protect us from big pharma.”

Both sides of the issue fought for the specifics of the language on the November ballot, with Ohio

Secretary of State Jon Husted mediating with both to forge an agreement in August.

Part of the ballot proposal, which has been seized on and criticized heavily in advertising by opponents, says that the four people who started the process to get Issue 2 on the ballot can sue the state of Ohio if they feel the law is not being carried out properly.

Their attorney fees and other expenses would be paid for by the state. However, the language also says that, if the law were to be found unenforceable, the four individuals would pay up to $10,000, giving them a personal stake in defending the law from legal challenges.

The Ohio general election is set for Nov. 7.