FIELD POLL
Support slips for plan pushed by drug firms Neither low-income prescription initiative backed by majority
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Staff Writer

Tuesday, September 6, 2005

Sacramento -- Two rival initiatives on prescription drugs that pit the pharmaceutical industry against California's most powerful unions are favored by voters, although support for one of the measures drops when voters learn it is backed by drug companies, a Field Poll released today found.

Proposition 78, on the November special election ballot, is backed by drugmakers who have poured $72 million into its campaign coffers. Likely voters favor it 49 percent to 31 percent, down from a 57 percent support level in June.

But when told the pharmaceutical industry backs the proposition, 44 percent of voters said that knowledge made it more likely they would vote "no." The measure would rely on voluntary efforts from pharmaceutical companies to provide discounted drugs to low-income Californians.

The initiative would offer lower cost prescriptions to a smaller group of Californians than Prop. 79, which is supported by 42 percent of likely voters and opposed by 34 percent.

"There is clear confusion on Prop. 78 as to who is backing it, which means it's the one with the greatest potential for change in preference," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll.

The poll also surveyed preferences for Prop. 73, which requires parental notification before a minor under the age of 18 can get an abortion. Voters were split at 45 percent on Prop. 73, with 10 percent undecided. Democrats and Republicans were mirror images, with 62 percent of Democrats opposing the measure and 61 percent of Republicans favoring it.

The fight between the two drug measures will be the most expensive on the November ballot. Drug companies are already airing radio and television commercials touting Prop. 78 and slamming Prop. 79 as a government-run bureaucracy.

Prop. 79 calls for prescription drug discounts to lower income Californians. Rebates from drugmakers negotiated with the state would pay for the discounts. Drugmakers who don't offer rebates could not sell their drugs to Medi-Cal, the state's $34 billion-a-year health care program for the poor.

During the campaign reporting period ending June 30, the California Teachers Association had contributed more than $4 million to the yes side of Prop. 79. Service Employees International Union kicked in $2.6 million.

Of the $72 million raised to defeat Prop. 79 and pass Prop. 78, nearly $10 million apiece was given by Merck, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson and GlaxoSmithKline.

The poll highlights the confusion over the measures that, if it lasts until election day, often leads voters to simply vote "no," DiCamillo said.

While knowledge that drugmakers backed Prop. 78 caused 44 percent of voters to be more likely to vote against it, 40 percent said they would be more likely to vote for Prop. 79 knowing it was backed by consumer groups and unions.

"As we get around to the election, voters will know which side the pharmaceutical companies will be on, and that could have a negative effect," DiCamillo said.

In good news for the consumer group's measure, 43 percent of likely voters favored the state administering a drug discount program, while 19 percent thought drug companies should.

The poll was conducted from Aug. 19 through Aug. 29 among 686 adults, including 425 registered voters, 325 of whom were considered likely to vote in November. The poll contains a sampling error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.