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Issue 2 Arguments Go Beyond Drug Prices, As Both Sides Debate Who's Covered And Who Gets Paid

Dale Butland of Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue (left) and Matt Borges with Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices discuss Issue 2.
Daniel Konik/OGT
Dale Butland of Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue (left) and Matt Borges with Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices discuss Issue 2.

With around 50 days to go till the November election and no major statewide candidates this year, that’s leaving plenty of space for opponents and supporters of a drug price issue on the ballot to hit the airwaves with millions of dollars in ads. But the main spokespeople for both sides have a lot to say that goes beyond those commercials.

Issue 2 may turn out to be the most expensive ballot issue campaign in Ohio history, topping the $64 million casino effort in 2008. It’s brought forward a huge ad campaign, and it’s one of the most contentious issues in recent years. The two people speaking on the issue are familiar to many political observers in Ohio. Matt Borges is the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party, and is representing Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices. He says the Issue 2 will do two things: “Lower people’s drug prices, make sure the state is not paying more than what the VA pays.”

And longtime Democratic strategist Dale Butland, former chief of staff to Sen. John Glenn, is speaking for Ohioans Against the Deceptive Prescription Ballot Issue. “The idea that this is going to save much, if any, money is preposterous,” Butland said.

The “vote yes” side says the state could save $400 million by requiring that the state pay no more for drugs than the federal Department of Veterans Affairs does. 3.7 million Ohioans in Medicaid and other state programs would be directly affected, and the “vote yes” side says taxpayers will save money directly and through a ripple effect throughout the country and the drug industry.  The “vote no” side says the state already has deals with drug companies, and that forcing drug companies into this kind of arrangement would actually have a negative impact, restricting access and driving up prices for other drugs. But there’s a line in the long ballot description that’s notable – it would “require state payment of attorney fees and expenses to specific individuals for defense of the law”.  Speaking for the “vote no” side, Butland said that’s a blank check to five people on the “vote yes” side, who’ve already filed more than 50 lawsuits nationwide. And he added: "[It] requires taxpayers to pay their legal fees, to pay their attorneys’ fees and without a cap or limit of any kind on the amount of money Ohioans are on the hook for.”

Borges said that’s a red herring by the drug companies that back the opposition. “It also says ‘reasonable attorney fees’, and so we’re not talking about some kind of blank check. But here’s the point. They want to talk about anything but meaningful reform that will actually bring drug prices down for Ohioans,” Borges said.

And that’s a big part of the argument Borges makes for the issue – that the drug companies supporting the vote no side are protecting their profits, and they’ll spend whatever they have to do it. “If this wouldn’t actually bring prices down in Ohio, which you’re saying it won’t, and it wouldn’t have a ripple effect through the marketplace so people would save money, why would the drug companies have spent $126 million to defeat this issue in California? Why are the drug companies spending $2 million a week to defeat this measure in Ohio?” Borges said.

Butland said the money doesn’t sway some who are against the issue, which is similar to one rejected in California last year. “Every major newspaper editorialized against it. So when Matt says, ‘Oh, it only went down because the drug companies spent all this money.’ Did the drug companies buy all the editorial boards, too, Matt? Come on, give me a break,” Butland said.

There is a question of whether the 468,000 people in the state’s retirement systems would be covered by Issue 2. Borges says yes, but Butland and others have said no.  That’s likely to be litigated if Issue 2 passes. $24 million has been spent on ads so far – with the “vote no” side spending five times more than the “vote yes” group. And campaign filings at the end of June show nearly $16 million has come in to the “vote no” side from the drug industry and $3.6 million has come to the “vote yes” side from the AIDS Foundation, which is run by the chief backer of Issue 2.

Copyright 2017 The Statehouse News Bureau

Contact Karen at 614/578-6375 or at kkasler@statehousenews.org.