Scathing Attacks Fly As National Spotlight Focuses On California Proposition To Curb High Drug Prices
“Court records alone show these drug companies have the morals and ethics of junkyard dogs,” says Garry South, the “Yes” campaign’s chief strategist.
Stat:
Drug Pricing Fight In California Turns Even Uglier As Voting Nears
The bitter campaign over high drug prices in California is heating up as it’s winding down. New polls show Californians deadlocked over a ballot proposition that would cap the amount some state health plans pay for medications. In an 11th hour bid to rally support for the measure, Senator Bernie Sanders is canvassing the state Monday with events in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Meanwhile, his allies in the “Yes” campaign just put out a series of brutal online “Wanted” ads painting pharma execs as criminals. (Robbins and Keshavan, 11/7)
California Healthline:
California’s Drug Price Initiative: Will Voters ‘Send A Signal To Washington’?
This year, Mary O’Connor and her father made voting a family affair. O’Connor’s father is a Vietnam veteran, so she was especially interested in his views on Proposition 61, a California ballot measure that would peg the state’s payments for prescription drugs to prices paid by the Department of Veterans Affairs. It’s widely believed the federal program for military personnel gets some of the deepest discounts in the country. (Bartolone, 11/7)
The San Diego Union Tribune:
California Ballot Propositions Rake In A Record $473 Million In Campaign Cash
The two most expensive measures are the ones potentially most damaging to the profits of the pharmaceutical and tobacco industries. Pharmaceutical companies have been the force behind the campaign to defeat Proposition 61, an initiative to influence prescription drug costs. At more than $109 million, it's one of the most expensive ballot measure campaigns in California history, according to data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics...Tobacco companies have mounted the second largest campaign cash effort this season in their bid to defeat Proposition 56, which would impose a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes. Tobacco giant Philip Morris alone has spent more than $44 million to oppose the measure. (Bollag, 11/7)
Sacramento Bee:
At Some Hospitals, Patients Get Their Ballots Hand-Delivered
In the June 7 presidential primary, roughly 59 percent of 8.5 million California voters used vote-by-mail ballots, according to the secretary of state’s office. Under state election laws, any voter who missed the absentee ballot deadline but cannot get to the polls “because of illness or disability” can make a signed, written request for an absentee ballot. That request can be delivered by someone they designate, such as a family member or hospital staffer, to the county elections office where they’re registered to vote. (Buck, 11/7)