GREENVILLE — The Board of Directors of the Darke County Chamber of Commerce has voted to oppose Issue 2, the drug-purchase initiative that will appear on the November statewide ballot in Ohio.

This initiative, known as the “Drug Price Relief Act,” would impose unworkable contracting requirements on the state of Ohio whenever it purchases any prescription drugs, the board said.

The Darke County Chamber opposes the initiative for several reasons: first among them is that the board feels it to be a deceptive and vague proposal which would impose artificial price controls on a variety of prescription medications.

Chamber Chairman Tony Roberts said, “The Darke County Chamber works hard to create a business climate that allows our members to create jobs and operate at a profit. The price-fixing scheme proposed in this ballot initiative could be applied to any other industry in Ohio in the future. It’s a price we cannot afford to pay to do business here.”

If passed, Issue 2 could lead to cost shifting to private payers, including local employers, resulting in higher health care premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

“This proposal is vague and does not provide any guidance on how it expects it to be implemented. Numerous experts have studied the proposal and concluded that not only is it unlikely to reduce drug costs, it very well could reduce patient access to medications,” said Chamber President Sharon Deschambeau. “Even more troublesome, the intentional lack of detail and guidance on how to implement this proposal could lead to years of bureaucratic fights and costly legal battles.”

In expressing its opposition, the Darke County Chamber added its voice to more than 60 organizations opposing Issue 2, including the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and business groups, organized labor, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, veterans and others.