The pharmaceutical industry has been locked in a fierce political battle with consumer groups in California, over the best way to provide prescription drug discounts to low-income residents. Both the drug industry and consumer advocates have placed their own initiatives on next Tuesday's ballot. The outcome could affect millions of Californians. KPBS Health Reporter Kenny Goldberg has the story.
In her small Spring Valley home, Nettie Steele puts a tray of prescription drugs on her kitchen table.
Nettie Steele: "The first one here is insulin, it costs me about 70 dollars a month. And then we've got Levaxil for my thyroid problem. And we have blood pressure medicine. And we have Estrace, which is a hormone, cause I had a hysterectomy."
All told, Steele pays about 240 dollars a month for her medications. Steele says it's tough living on a fixed income with no health insurance.
Steele: "You know it's a monthly concern, comin' up with the money for this. Then when the doctor says he wants to add another prescription to my list, I usually tell him I just can't afford any more. So that's the way it is."
But Steele and millions of other low-income Californians could soon catch a break. Next Tuesday, voters will be asked to decide between two competing prescription drug discount measures.
Prop 78 is backed by pharmaceutical companies. The measure would offer drug discounts to people who earn up to three times the federal poverty level. An estimated five-million Californians fall in that category. Julie Corcoran is with PhRMA, the main drug industry trade group.
Julie Corcoran: "Prop 78 is a program that will provide real help right now to millions of Californians who are currently having difficulty accessing affordable medicines. And it is designed, too, to also help seniors."
Corcoran says low-income Californians would get drug discounts of around 40 percent off retail. But there are no guarantees. That's because under Prop 78, participation by drug companies would be voluntary.
That's not the case with Prop 79, the measure sponsored by consumer groups. Under that initiative, companies that refused to offer discounts could be shut out from the Medi-Cal program which purchases some four-billion dollars worth of drugs each year.
Anthony Wright is executive director of the non-profit advocacy group Health Access. He says both Prop 78 and 79 promise drug discounts.
Anthony Wright: "So the major difference is enforcement. Whether we actually expect the drug companies to lower their prices voluntarily, or are we gonna use our bargaining power to negotiate a cheaper price, so that Californians don't have to pay more than anybody else in the entire world for prescription drugs. "
Prop 79 also has looser income standards so it would cover about twice as many Californians as Prop 78. The issue is of vital importance to drug companies. And they've ponied up more than 80-million dollars to run an aggressive ad campaign against Prop 79.
Check it out and see for yourself. Prop 79 is the wrong prescription for California. In contrast, consumer groups have raised only around two-million dollars to push their initiative. As voters consider their choices, which measure would deliver the most benefit to low-income Californians? Geoffrey Joyce is a senior economist at the Rand Corporation.
Geoffrey Joyce: "I think 79 would extend bigger discounts on a wider range of drugs for lower and middle-income folks. The downside is I think the likelihood of 79, if it passed on November 8th, of actually being implemented is unlikely. I think it would be delayed in the courts for quite some time. Conversely, 78 would likely, if it passed, be implemented fairly quickly."
If both measures are approved, the one with the most votes will prevail. But this week's Field Poll shows neither measure has the support it needs to pass next Tuesday. Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
