ISSUE 2
Compensation, prisons, the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and others. Their spending on drugs totals about $700 million a year.
“Ultimately, there is insufficient information to reliably estimate potential savings from Issue 2,” the report says.
The issue on the Nov. 7 ballot would prohibit state entities from purchasing prescription drugs unless prices match or are lower than the discounted prices drug makers provide to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
State law requires the Office of Budget and Management to prepare an analysis of the fiscal impact of state ballot issues.
The state’s Medicaid program would be unlikely to realize any cost savings from Issue 2 because federal studies show that its “net drug prices are also the closest to VA drug prices and, in fact, may be equivalent or better,” the report says.
The ballot issue would require that Issue 2 take effect July 1, 2018.
“It is clear that implementing Issue 2 would be a substantial undertaking to set up the staffing, mechanisms, and potential program changes to comply with the drug price limitation. Affected state entities and programs simply could not be ready to comply with Issue 2 in that time frame,” the report says.
Californian Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is bankrolling Issue 2 after failing to win voter approval of a similar measure in his home state. Major pharmaceutical companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on TV advertising to oppose the issue.
Dale Butland, spokesman for Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue, said, “The official OBM analysis confirms that Issue 2 is too risky, too costly, and unworkable. That’s why more than 80 Ohio organizations representing doctors, nurses, pharmacists, hospitals and so many others who care about the health and well-being of Ohioans are opposing Issue 2.
“It therefore can’t and won’t achieve anything remotely close to the wild savings estimates touted by Issue 2 proponents. Further, Issue 2 could very well increase costs for a majority of Ohio consumers, while reducing access to needed medicines for some of our most vulnerable citizens.”
Dennis Willard, spokesman for Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices, said, “The budget director concludes in his report that a yes vote on Issue 2 will save the state money.
“We believe the savings can be calculated and we have produced a study that shows the range will most likely fall well within the $400 million a year that Ohio taxpayers will save when we no longer pay the excessive prices charged by big drug companies for medicine.”
Proponents of Issue 2 on Wednesday also tried to knock down opponent claims that taxpayers will be on the hook for possibly excessive attorneys’ fees if the proposal is approved and challenged in court. During a call with reporters, Tracy Jones, one of four petitioners who initiated the ballot issue, said Attorney General Mike DeWine has indicated he “would defend the will of the people,” making costs of outside legal counsel unnecessary.
Later, DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the attorney general considers it his duty to defend state laws when they are challenged in court. DeWine does not intend to take a position on the proposal. Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Issue have raised concern that Issue 2 includes a provision giving backers the right to intervene at taxpayer expense in any legal challenges that might be filed against it if it becomes law.
The Office of Budget and Management analysis of Issue 1, the Ohio Crime Victims Bill of Rights, found it would have “marginal fiscal impact on the state level” due to a crime victim rights provision in the Ohio Constitution and other laws.
“Potential costs on the local level could be more significant, particularly as they relate to the court system and public defender costs borne by counties … The fact that it makes changes to the way courts and related agencies at the state and local level administer victims’ rights could impact costs,” the report on “Marsy’s Law” said.