The high cost of prescription medication remains a major concern for a significant proportion of Americans, with eight out ten respondents to the latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll describing prices as “unreasonable”. The results showed a rise in the proportion of the American public concerned about the high price of prescription medication, with 80 percent describing costs as unreasonable in the latest poll, up from 73 percent in 2015. Only one-fifth of people felt the price of prescription medication was “reasonable”.
More than half (52 percent) of the respondents to the poll asserted that passing legislation to reduce the price of prescription drugs should be a “top priority” for President Trump and Congress. A further 38 percent agreed this was an important issue but should not be considered a top priority. These findings revealed that prescription drug pricing topped the list of the public’s priorities, ahead of passing an infrastructure bill to improve roads and bridges, addressing the prescription painkiller epidemic, and repeal of the 2010 healthcare law.
Despite the desire to see legislation passed to lower prescription drug costs among respondents, only 39 percent of respondents to the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll expressed confidence in the president and his administration’s ability to deliver on his promise to reduce the cost of medication. Fewer still believed in the Trump administration’s ability to tackle the problem of prescription painkiller addiction, with only 28 percent of respondents expressing confidence in the administration’s ability to deal with the epidemic.
Many of the respondents felt President Trump, the Democrats, and the Republicans in Congress were “not doing enough” to lower the price of prescription medication. A total of 82 percent and 83 percent respectively said Republicans and Democrats in Congress were not taking sufficient action to reduce drug costs in the United States. Around three-quarters (77 percent) leveled the same criticism at the president and his administration. 00
The poll also found there was a significant concern among the general public about the influence wielded by the pharmaceutical industry in Washington, with 72 percent saying pharmaceutical companies had “too much influence”. This was higher than the proportion who said Wall Street (69 percent) and health insurance (66 percent) had too much influence.
Prescription medication use is on the rise in the United States, according to recent studies, with a recent report by QuintilesIMS suggesting the number of prescriptions filled by Americans each year has risen from around 2.4 billion in 1997 to 4.4 billion in 2016. Furthermore, a Consumer Reports survey found more than half of Americans take at least one prescription medication and that the average American takes four prescription drugs. Many also take over-the-counter drugs, vitamins, and other dietary supplements, the survey found.
According to the IQVIA National Sales Perspectives 2016 report, the hypothyroidism medication levothyroxine, which goes under the brand name Synthroid, was the most prescribed medication in the United States, followed by the blood pressure medication lisinopril. The same report found more money was spend on medication to treat diabetes than any other condition.
