Voters reject prescription drug issue by big margin

SANDUSKY — A state question which attempted to set price controls for purchases of medicine was a losing prescription with statewide voters.State Issue 2 lost by a landslide both locally and across the state. Only about 19 percent of Erie County's voters favored the issue, according to unofficial results. If it had been approved, the state question would have banned Ohio from paying more for prescription drugs for state medical programs than the amount paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.Opponents argued that the question could actually raise drug prices for many patients and that taxpayers would have to pay for any lawsuits filed to attempt to enforce the proposal.A similar proposal was defeated in 2016 in California, although it lost by a lesser margin, with about 53 percent voting no and 47 percent in favor.Curt Steiner, the campaign manager for Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue, said voters turned against a fatally-flawed proposal."Today, Ohio voters delivered a loud and clear message that Issue 2 was a deceptive and seriously flawed proposal. A large majority of Ohio voters concluded Issue 2 wouldn't have solved any problems; it would have made things worse," Steiner said. "Issue 2 was unworkable at its core. Adoption of Issue 2 would have increased bureaucracy and raised costs for Ohio Medicaid and other state agencies that provide prescription drugs to Ohioans. And passage would have led to health care cost increases for the two-thirds of Ohioans who are not covered by state programs—including military veterans using VA benefits, those on Medicare and families with private or employer-based insurance."The Yes on Issue 2 campaign issued a statement blaming the loss on big spending by drug companies:"We are proud of the campaign we have run and are tremendously humbled by people of Ohio who truly want to do the right thing and hold drug companies accountable. Unfortunately, faced with $70-plus million in spending by huge drug companies and an all-out assault on the truth by our opposition, we came up short tonight to lower drug prices for 4 million Ohioans and save taxpayers $400 million," the statement read.State Issue 2 statewide results• For: 453,424• Against: 1,765,936According to unofficial results, 95 percent of the precincts reporting. Source: Ohio Secretary of State State Issue 2 Erie County results• For: 3,407.• Against: 14,344.According to unofficial results, all precincts reporting. Source: Erie County Board of ElectionsReach the Register at news@sanduskyregister.com. Follow us on Twitter @SanduskyRegistr and at Facebook.com/sanduskyregisterFour representatives for and against Issue 2 discuss the proposed legislation during a forum co-hosted Serving Our Seniors and the Register at the Church of the Nazarene in Sandusky on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017.