OMA Files Legal Challenge Regarding Drug Purchasing Initiated Statute

The OMA together with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and the Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) this week filed a legal challenge with the Ohio Supreme Court asking the Court to invalidate specific part-petitions submitted as part of a proposed initiated statute regarding drug pricing in Ohio.

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation has filed paperwork with the Ohio Secretary of State to place an initiated statute – the “Ohio Drug Price Relief Act ” – on the November general election ballot.  The measure attempts to require the state to pay no more for prescription drugs than is paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

In a media statement, attorney Kurt Tunnell, Managing Partner of the Bricker & Eckler law firm, which filed the action, said, “There is clear evidence that proponents broke the law to the point of signatures falling below the legal threshold of consideration.”

The California-based petitioners behind the proposal hired PCI Consultants, Inc., a Los Angeles-based company that offers petition management services nationwide. The legal challenge identifies four areas of Ohio law with which a number of petition circulators failed to comply, and alleges that the signatures collected by those circulators are invalid and should be stricken.

Here’s the related media statement.