Public supports government action on drug prices

Kaider Family Foundation -With increased attention among policymakers towards prescription drug costs, the February 2019 KFF Health Tracking Poll finds a majority of adults, including seniors, are in favor of many policy options aimed at curbing prescription drug costs. There is majority support – across party identification – for many current policy proposals, including recent Trump administration proposals like international reference pricing and transparency in drug advertisements. Both of these policy proposals are supported by large majorities of Democrats and independents, and a majority of Republicans.

Majorities across the political divide support a range of policies aimed at lowering prescription drug costs, such as including list prices in ads and allowing the government to negotiate Medicare drug prices

There is also bipartisan support for allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies to get a lower price for people with Medicare, which covers 60 million Americans. But attitudes towards this proposal shift after hearing potential arguments about how it might affect some people with Medicare. Among those currently taking prescription drugs, one-fourth of adults (24 percent) and seniors (23 percent) say it is difficult to afford their prescription drugs including about one in ten (overall and among seniors) saying it is “very difficult.”