Sen. Hagan deserves praise for enactment of drug bill

While the names of two Republican state legislators will forever be listed as the sponsors of Ohio's Best Rx Program, which is designed to ease the burden of the high cost of prescription drugs for as many as 1.7 million Ohioans, there is another legislator who has earned the right to have his name displayed prominently.
Robert F. Hagan, the Democratic senator from Youngstown, has waged a 15-year battle over the rising cost of health care in general and the exorbitantly high price of prescription drugs in particular. We recall when Hagan, then a member of the House of Representatives, first said the words "universal health care." He was denounced by every special interest group that was determined to preserve the status quo. Hagan even made some members of his own party uncomfortable with his unyielding attacks on the health care system in the United States and his championing the cause of the 40 million Americans -- 2.2 million in Ohio -- without health insurance or drug coverage.
Year after year he brought forth various versions of his universal health care initiative, hoping to sway Republicans and some of his Democratic colleagues. But each year, the legislative session ended with little or no progress being made.
To his credit, Hagan refused to give up. The more he heard from the elderly and poor Ohioans, the more determined he became in his fight for a legislative solution. Thus, his reaction to this week's passage of Senate Bill 138 and House Bill 311 was not only justified, but appropriate.
"This is a dream that has finally come to fruition," Hagan said. "The true reward will come when millions of Ohioans will not have to struggle to pay for their medications; rather just simply live healthy lives. [The legislation] is monumental in that fact alone."
Co-sponsor
The fact that the Republican leadership in the Senate saw fit to include Hagan's name as a co-sponsor of the Senate bill shows the bipartisan nature of this initiative. The overwhelming vote in both chambers -- the House passed the bill on Tuesday, the Senate on Wednesday -- demonstrates the widespread public support for legislative solutions to the health care crisis.
Once signed into law, Ohio's Best Rx Program will give state residents 60 and older and low-income Ohioans of all ages a break of between 25 percent and 40 percent in the cost of prescription drugs.
The provisions of the program were hammered out in meetings between the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs, comprising 18 labor unions and other groups, and drug makers. Hagan was active in the coalition.
The passage of the bill is a recognition by the Republican leadership in the General Assembly that prescription medicines are a necessity for many, not a luxury, and that the runaway cost of live-preserving drugs has put many Ohioans in jeopardy.
'Skippers'
Testimonials from Mahoning Valley residents during public hearings on the health-care crisis moved us deeply. Resident after resident talked about having to skip doses of prescription medicine to make supplies last longer, and even choosing between buying food and paying for medicine.
But while the Democratic senator from Youngstown is applauding this significant step by the state legislature to address the life-and-death issue, he remains committed to expanding the program so the state would have the authority to negotiate reduced prescription prices for all Ohioans who are uninsured or underinsured.
Given the lopsided vote in both chambers for Ohio's Best Rx Program, the chances of Hagan's initiative getting a hearing have improved greatly today.