Fact checks: Ohio Issue 2, Drug Price Standards Initiative (2017)
Ohio voted on Issue 2, an initiative to require the state to purchase prescription drugs at prices no higher than what is paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, on November 7, 2017.
Ballotpedia has fact-checked the following claims about Ohio Issue 2.
Ohio Issue 2 and VA drug price availability
Opponents of Issue 2 claim that the plan is unworkable because the VA does not publicly disclose the lowest price paid for all drugs.[1] A report funded by Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices, a political action committee (PAC) that supports Issue 2, claims that it is "unclear" how many VA drug prices are not public, but "it does not seem to be many."[2]
How many VA drug prices are not publicly available?
There are 17,969 pharmaceutical contract prices publicly accessible on the VA website, and a department official told Ballotpedia that the VA does not publicly disclose 1,656 drug prices.[3][4]
Who is promoting Ohio Issue 2?
Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Issue, a PAC opposed to the Issue 2 initiative, claims, "Issue 2 is being promoted by a billion-dollar California-based nonprofit, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), that gets nearly 80% of its revenue from selling prescription drugs."[5] On its website, the group also claims that the AHF is "Issue 2's main funder."[6]
Does the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) receive nearly 80 percent of its revenue from selling prescription drugs? Is the AHF the main funder of support for Issue 2?
According to the AHF's 2016 financial statement, 79.4 percent of its revenue ($924 million of total revenue) came from reimbursements from insurers for providing prescription drugs to patients.[7][8][9]
Does Ohio Issue 2 give promoters the right to defend the law at taxpayer expense?
According to Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Issue, a PAC opposed to the initiative, Issue 2 includes "an unprecedented provision to give themselves [the promoters of Issue 2] the right to intervene at taxpayer expense in any legal challenges that may be filed against it if it becomes law. This provision would give the sponsors a blank check to defend any part of the law, and require that their legal fees be reimbursed by taxpayers whether they win or lose."[10]
Does Issue 2 grant promoters the right to intervene in any legal challenge at taxpayer expense?
Yes. Issue 2 designates four individuals as a committee to represent the initiative petitioners, and permits any one or more of them to defend Issue 2 in court at taxpayer expense. The four proponents are: William Booth, Tracy Jones, Latonya Thurman, and Daniel Darland.[11] The first three work with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation as either employees or contractors, the principal source of funding for the initiative.[12]
The initiative also provides that the proponents shall be jointly and severally liable to pay a fine of $10,000 to the state if any provision of Issue 2 is deemed by a court to be unenforceable.[11]
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Footnotes
- ↑ No on 2, Deceptive Rx Issue, "FAQs," accessed October 12, 2017
- ↑ Yes on Issue 2, "The Ohio Prescription Drugs Relief Act: Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ United States Department of Veterans Affairs, "Pharmaceutical Prices," accessed October 2, 2017
- ↑ Sara Reynolds, "Email communication with VA spokesperson," October 4, 2017
- ↑ Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Issue, "ISSUE 2: Ohio’s Misleading Rx Ballot Issue is Bad for Taxpayers," July 26, 2017
- ↑ No on Issue 2, "About," accessed October 5, 2017
- ↑ AIDS Healthcare Foundation, "AIDS Healthcare Foundation Audited Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Information As of and For the Years Ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 with Report of Independent Auditors, Page 4," accessed October 2, 2017
- ↑ Of the $924 million, $52.3 million was for "pharmacy revenue receivable," or pharmacy sales in 2016 paid in 2017.
- ↑ Taylor Kempema, "Email communication with Ged Kenslea, Senior Director of Communications, AIDS Healthcare Foundation," October 11, 2017
- ↑ Ohioans Against the Deceptive Rx Ballot Issue, "Issue 2: Ohio's Misleading Rx Ballot Issue is Bad for Patients & Health Care Providers," accessed September 24, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Ohio Secretary of State, "Initiative Petition," accessed September 30, 2017
- ↑ My Dayton Daily News, "Who is Michael Weinstein, the man behind Issue 2?" October 2, 2017
