Nearly 9 in 10 older Americans said they would support Medicare's efforts to negotiate drug pricing, according to survey results released May 25 by The Senior Citizens League.
The Senior Citizens League collected responses from 1,234 participants, finding that 88 percent of them believe the U.S. should match prescription drug prices to the amounts patients pay in other industrialized countries.
HR 3, House Democrats' signature drug-pricing measure, would allow the HHS secretary to negotiate lower drug prices through Medicare, cap out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 annually and penalize drugmakers for price gouging. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the measure could reduce government spending on Medicare Part D by $456 billion over a 10-year period.
The survey also found that 28 percent of respondents reported monthly drug spending levels that put them at risk of exceeding the Medicare Part D initial coverage limit, and 25 percent said they postponed filling at least one prescription in 2020 due to high cost or shortages.