Former U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Cleveland) came to Toledo Thursday to push passage of Issue 2, a statewide question on the Nov. 7 ballot that aims to lower the cost of prescription drugs bought by state government.
Mr. Kucinich said the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act ballot question is in line with efforts he’s made in his career to reduce the costs of health care.
“When Issue 2 passes, the people of Ohio will direct the state of Ohio to negotiate with the drug companies to get the lowest possible price that can be obtained, as the [U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs] does,” Mr. Kucinich said. “The goal is to get the [Department of Veterans Affairs] rate.”
Opponents of Issue 2 say Mr. Kucinich is misinformed and the measure gives the state no such power.
“While I respect former Congressman Kucinich, it’s been a very long time since he served in the state legislature and it appears that he is many years behind the times with respect to the way Ohio purchases drugs. Ohio already negotiates, just like the VA does,” said Dale Butland, spokesman for the opposition group Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue.
“According to the officials who run Ohio’s drug purchasing programs, we are already getting nearly the same if not better discounts than the VA gets. So the idea that Ohio is not currently negotiating is flatly false,” he said.
Mr. Kucinich is a former Cleveland mayor and was a member of Congress until a failed re-election bid in 2012. He ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008. Mr. Kucinich is a contributor to Fox News Channel.
He met separately with Toledo news outlets Wednesday, continuing a tour of the state that has taken him to Columbus, Zanesville, Cleveland, Steubenville, Athens, Dayton, Findlay, Lima, as well as Wheeling, W.Va.
He said he was asked by Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices to advocate for the voter-initiated state law.
Issue 2 asks voters to enact a law to prohibit the state directly or indirectly through any of its programs from paying more for prescription drugs than the prices paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Under federal law, the VA gets a 24 percent discount on drug prices.
Supporters of Issue 2 accuse the pharmaceutical industry of working to protect its bottom line, repeating headlines of CEOs accused of artificially spiking prices of drugs and products to boost profits.
The opposition says that lowering prescription drug prices is a laudable goal, but Issue 2 isn’t the way to get there. The opposition has assembled a coalition that includes veterans groups, medical professionals, and former state Medicaid directors.
Contact Tom Troy at tomtroy@theblade.com, 419-724-6058, or on Twitter @TomFTroy.
First Published October 5, 2017, 10:55 p.m.
