Here’s the evidence:
Rossi voted against a bill to develop a comprehensive prescription drug education and utilization system that would improve prescription drug prescribing practices, increase consumer understanding of and compliance with appropriate use of prescription drugs, and improve prescription drug purchasing through a sound evidence-based process that evaluates the therapeutic value and cost-effectiveness of prescription drugs. [ESSB 6368, 27-20, 2/18/02]
A bill aimed at controlling the escalating costs of prescription drugs passed the Senate after supporters fended off several attempts to delay action. Senate Bill 6368 would make a list of “preferred” drugs for many common illnesses. From drugs considered essentially equal by a scientific panel, the state would select the cheapest. The state would then use the power of the list to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers. The bill passed 27-20. [Associated Press, 2/19/02]
A bill aimed at controlling the state’s rapidly rising drug costs continues to make its way through the Legislature. Senate Bill 6368 passed out of a House committee on Thursday. The bill would allow the state to create a “preferred drug list” for Medicaid patients. From drugs considered essentially equal by a scientific panel, the state would select the cheapest. The state would then use the power of the list to negotiate lower prices with manufacturers. [Associated Press, 2/28/02]
A prescription drug bill passed the House but has stalled in the Senate Ways and Means Committee led by Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Issaquah. The bill would allow a panel of doctors and pharmacists to compare drugs that are equally effective, then pick the cheapest one. The state would put the cheapest one on a “preferred drug list” and buy it in bulk, a tactic similar to what private insurers do to trim prices. If a doctor thinks a patient needs a particular drug not on the state’s list, he or she could still write the prescription and the state would pay. [Seattle Times, 4/12/03]
Both the Senate and the House have already passed prescription drug reform bills, but they differ greatly. The House version, which Rossi has blocked in the Senate, would create a “preferred drug list” for state purchasing, similar to the formularies used by most private health plans. The most effective drugs in a category would compete on price to get on the state’s preferred drug list; doctors would be able to prescribe medications not on the list if they thought it was necessary…. House Democrats want to allow people without insurance to join the state’s bulk purchasing pool and get discounts on prescription drugs that way; Senate Republicans favor limiting membership in the purchasing pool to the poor and elderly. In general, the House bill that’s now stuck in the Senate is more far-reaching – which is exactly what Rossi doesn’t like about it. [Associated Press, 4/15/03]
The Ad Says “Rossi instead voted for his big drug company contributors”
Here’s the Evidence:
Dino Rossi has accepted $46,939 from drug companies and their employees in campaign contributions. [Washington Public Disclosure Commission, July 1996- June 2008]
The Senate’s version of the legislation, SB 6368, passed and now sits in the House. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a Washington, D.C.-based industry group, voiced its opposition. [Puget Sound Business Journal, 3/1/02]
Most of the opposition to SB 6368 comes from PhRMA, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association, which typically battles efforts to control prescription drug costs. [Associated Press, 2/19/02]
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries oppose SB6368. [Associated Press, 2/28/02]
Download the spreadsheet of contributions Dino has taken from big drug companies and their employees.
Download the bill and read it for yourself.