How much would be saved?

An essential question with Issue 2 is whether the VA price is better than what the state of Ohio currently pays?

The opposition says it is impossible to know whether the VA price is always lower than what state programs currently pay because neither the VA’s final price, nor the state’s final price, is public information.

The VA receives a 24 percent mandatory discount off the the non-federal average manufacturer price and then negotiates additional discounts by limiting which drugs it offers on its formulary. Drug companies give lower prices in order to be included.

Medicaid, under federal law, must receive a 23.1 percent mandatory discount and then is able to negotiate additional discounts off of that.

The additional discounts that both programs work out with manufacturers are considered proprietary and are not disclosed publicly.

So it’s unknown what the ultimate lowest price is that either pays, but several experts who analyzed the available data said it’s likely the state and the VA are already paying pretty close to same price for drugs.

“It is reasonable to assume that Medicaid and the VA are approximately equivalent in terms of the net discounts/rebates realized from manufacturers,” an analysis by consultant Maureen Corcoran says. She was Ohio Medicaid director under Gov. Ted Strickland.

If that was the total picture, then Issue 2 wouldn’t really do much to help or hurt drug prices, the report says.