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 The California Drug Price Relief Act, also known as Proposition 61,
sought to limit state health programs from paying more for
medications than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which
receives the steepest discounts in the country.
As of late Tuesday night, with 47 percent of precincts partially
reporting, the vote was 46 percent in support of the measure and 54
percent opposed, according to California's Secretary of State.
"The pharmaceutical companies spent a lot to defeat this," said
Stuart Schweitzer, professor of health policy and management at the
University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public
Health. "They wanted to draw a line in the sand."
The rising cost of prescription drugs has come under attack during
the recent U.S. presidential campaign. Both Democratic candidate
Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have called for
cost-trimming measures including allowing Medicare, the federal
health plan for seniors, to negotiate prices with drugmakers.
"This strong vote for Prop 61, even despite the barrage of drug
company campaigning against it, provides momentum for state
legislation to rein in prescription drug prices," Anthony Wright,
executive director of advocacy group Health Access California, said
in a statement.
Pharmaceutical companies, concerned about their bottom lines, spent
heavily on ads urging "no" votes, making this California's most
expensive initiative contest among the 17 in this election.
Opponents, led by global drugmakers such as Pfizer Inc and Amgen
Inc, spent around $106 million to fight Proposition 61. They argued
that the measure would benefit only 12 percent of Californians,
while putting the other 88 percent, as well as veterans across the
country, at risk of higher drug costs.
Supporters, led by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and AARP, which
advocates for seniors, said only drug companies themselves can raise
prices for veterans or other consumers. Vermont Independent Senator
Bernie Sanders also campaigned in support of Proposition 61, calling
on voters to "stand up to the greed of the pharmaceutical industry."
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Proponents, who raised $17 million to support the measure, estimated
it could save California taxpayers up to $5.7 billion over 10 years,
although a state legislative analysis said the financial impact is
not clear.
UCLA's Schweitzer said the measure would have had only a modest
impact on state drug costs.
There were also questions about how Proposition 61 would be
implemented. The VA's mandated prices are listed publicly, but its
steepest negotiated drug price discounts are required by law to be
confidential.
The VA spends some $6.1 billion a year on medicines for 6 million
veterans. Proposition 61 would extend those discounts to around 4.5
million Californians, including certain members of the state's
low-income Medicaid plan, state employees and retirees, university
teachers and prisoners.
The "Yes on Prop 61" coalition said it plans to carry its message to
other states. A similar proposition has already been approved for
Ohio's 2017 November ballot.
(Reporting By Deena Beasley; Editing by Mary Milliken)
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