CSRXP POLL: VOTERS SEE THROUGH BIG PHARMA’S BLAME GAME, WANT WASHINGTON TO LOWER DRUG PRICES & HOLD DRUG COMPANIES ACCOUNTABLE

Broad Majorities of Americans Blame Pharmaceutical Industry for Out-of-Control Drug Prices and Support Market-Based Solutions to Boost Affordability, Competition and Value

Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released the results of a national survey conducted by Morning Consult today.

“Voters overwhelmingly view out-of-control prescription drug prices as a top political issue in the upcoming midterm elections and demand policymakers in Washington act on repeated promises to lower prices and hold Big Pharma accountable,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Despite Big Pharma’s massive spending on misleading ads, Americans see through the pharmaceutical industry’s blame game and want Congress to hold the industry accountable with market-based solutions to boost affordability, competition and value.”

The survey of 2,005 registered voters was commissioned by CSRxP and conducted by Morning Consult from January 20-22, 2022. Key takeaways include:

Drug Prices Are an Important Midterm Election Issue for the Vast Majority of Voters

• 91 Percent of voters say prescription drug prices are an important issue for them in the midterm elections, more than the COVID-19 pandemic (87 percent), including more than half of voters (53 percent) who say drug prices are “very important.”
• >Three-in-Four: More than three-quarters of voters say it would impact their vote in the midterm elections if Congress fails to pass solutions to lower drug prices, including 40 percent who say it would have a “significant impact.”
  • 82 and 77 Percent: This includes 82 percent of Democrats and 77 percent of Republicans.

Voters Agree Both the Administration and Congress Must Do More to Lower Drug Prices

• 65 Percent of voters say President Biden has not done enough compared to address lower drug prices compared to just 15 percent who say the administration has done enough.
• 72 Percent of voters say Congress has not done enough to lower drug prices compared to just 11 percent who say Congress has done enough.

Americans Face Significant Financial Challenges Due to Big Pharma’s Out-of-Control Prices

• Nearly One-in-Four: Almost a quarter (23 percent) of American voters say themselves or a family member face financial insecurity due to the price of prescription drugs.

Voters Rightfully Blame Big Pharma for Rising Drug Prices

• 87 Percent: When asked who was responsible for rising prescription drug prices, 87 percent of respondents said the pharmaceutical industry, including 60 percent who said the industry was “very responsible.

And Voters Reject Big Pharma’s Blame Game Targeting Others in the Supply Chain

When asked which of the following statements comes closest to your opinion, even if neither is exactly right, voters overwhelmingly saw through the Big Pharma’s blame game rhetoric designed to evade accountability for out-of-control drug prices by targeting others in the supply chain with misleading narratives.

• 58 Percent: Nearly three-in-five voters agreed with the statement: “pharmaceutical companies game the system to undermine competition from more affordable alternatives in the market and are responsible for setting and hiking prescription drug prices. Their ad campaign amounts to a blame game meant to protect pharmaceutical industry profits. Lawmakers must ignore this blame game and act to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable and lower drug prices.”

• 21 Percent: Compared to one-in-five voters who agreed with the statement: “the pharmaceutical industry is right that pharmacy benefit managers, sometimes called middlemen in the supply chain, cause higher prices by distorting incentives in the marketplace and pocket dollars that could otherwise be passed through to patients as savings. Lawmakers should listen to the pharmaceutical industry and hold others in the supply chain accountable.”

Voters Overwhelmingly Support Market-Based Solutions to Lower Drug Prices and Hold Big Pharma Accountable

Massive majorities support drug pricing solutions being considered as part of the Build Back Better Act. When asked how important it is that Congress pass each of the following reforms:

• 86 Percent of voters said it was important for Congress to cap out-of-pocket costs for seniors.
• 88 Percent of voters said it was important to keep price increases below the rate of inflation.
• 87 Percent of voters said it was important to reform Medicare Part D to make pharmaceutical companies contribute significant cost-sharing in the catastrophic phase of coverage.

And voters support additional legislative and regulatory solutions to crack down on Big Pharma’s egregious abuse of the patent system and boost competition in the prescription drug marketplace.

• >75 Percent: More than 75 percent of voters support solutions to crack down on drug companies’ patent abuse and increase competition.
• Four-in-Five: Almost four-in-five voters (79 percent) agree federal agencies, like the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), should encourage greater competition in the prescription drug marketplace.

A Majority of Voters Support CMS’ Coverage Decision on Aduhelm — Want Clinical Value and Cost Factored Into Regulatory Decision-Making

• >Three-in-Four: 77 percent of voters agree clinical value and likely cost should be considered in FDA approval decisions for new medications.
• 86 percent: A massive 86 percent majority of voters agree “lawmakers must implement protections to ensure medications approved by regulators have clinical value for patients — in other words, that the medication has strong evidence of supporting positive outcomes for patient conditions it is meant to treat.”
• 72 percent: More than 70 percent of voters also agree the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should weigh clinical value in deciding how broadly to cover a medication.
• More than Two-to-One: A majority of voters (56 percent) agree with CMS’ recent decision to cover Aduhelm only for Medicare beneficiaries who are participating in clinical trials while more data is gathered on the medication’s unproven clinical value, compared to 25 percent who disagree. 

See Morning Consult’s summary of the CSRxP survey findings HERE.

Read more on market-based solutions to lower drug prices and hold Big Pharma accountable HERE.