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Cost Questions Abound on Ohio Drug Price Relief Measure
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Determining the exact savings attached to a proposal on Ohio’s fall ballot aimed at reining in the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs is no easy task.
On paper, Issue 2 sounds simple. The citizen-initiated statute would bar state agencies from buying drugs at prices higher than those paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which receives deep discounts.
Yet an Associated Press review of cost data and expert analyses reveals significant unanswered questions surrounding the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. Even the state budget office is apparently struggling for definitive answers as it prepares a required analysis due out next month.
Parties disagree over which entities would fall under the act, how the mandated price reductions would interact with Ohio’s existing prescription discounts and how it would affect costs.