Drug Price Proposal Not Headed to the Ballot

A Supreme Court of Ohio decision has, for now, stymied a national foundation, AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles, that was working toward placing an initiated statute on the November general election ballot that would cap prices on prescription drugs purchased by the state.

The proposed Ohio Drug Price Relief Act would require Ohio agencies to pay no more for drugs than paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

OMA, among others, brought a lawsuit to contest the validity of the signatures and petitions filed by paid circulators.

The court found that 10,303 signatures were invalid because the circulators violated Ohio law.  If sufficient valid signatures are collected within the court’s specified time period to cure the deficiency, then the petition can be resubmitted to the General Assembly for its consideration.  It is expected that the proposed law will be presented to electors in 2017.

OMA’s interest in the matter in addition to the irregularity of the petitioning process is opposition to government limiting prices on manufactured goods.  Here’s OMA’s media statement on the decision.