The backers of a proposal to limit the amount the state pays for drugs for Medicaid, prisons and other state programs have won their fight to bring the plan to next year’s ballot.
Secretary of State Jon Husted’s office has certified the petitions turned in by Ohioans for Fair Drug Prices, the group pushing the proposal that Ohio pay no more for drugs than the federal Department of Veterans Affairs does. In mid September, the group turned in more than 120,000 valid signatures gathered after a previous round of signatures was rejected. More legal action eventually brought the proposal back to the Ohio Supreme Court, which ordered Husted to certify the signatures. That puts the issue on track for the November 2017 ballot, and the group anticipates heavy opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, as it’s facing with a similar plan in California.