Colorado Voters Give Hickenlooper A Clear Mandate For Drug Pricing Reform in 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. — After campaigning on the promise to lower drug prices, John Hickenlooper successfully won the Colorado Senate seat. Throughout the campaign, Hickenlooper promised to help families afford prescription drug costs by pushing for Medicare negotiation and transparent drug pricing. With his victory comes a clear mandate from voters for Senator-elect Hickenlooper to stand with patients against Big Pharma and rein in prescription drug prices in 2021.

“Hickenlooper’s victory proves what we have heard from voters across the country: Patients want elected officials who will fight to lower drug prices,” said David Mitchell, a cancer patient and the founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Hickenlooper’s promise to deliver meaningful drug pricing reform is a commitment we will hold him to as he joins the 117th Congress. Patients can’t wait any longer.”

Hickenlooper ran ads elevating the issue of drug pricing and committing to “help families getting crushed by prescription drug costs.” Voters took Hickenlooper’s commitment to the polls and delivered him a victory, flipping the Senate seat.

In the lead-up to Nov. 3, Coloradans like Kris Garcia from Denver shared their stories to spotlight the struggle Colorado residents face affording prescription drugs. “When you cast your ballot, make sure your candidate has a plan to lower drug prices.”

Garcia’s ad was a part of a seven-figure national campaign launched by Patients For Affordable Drugs Now featuring TV, radio, and digital ads alongside grassroots tools that gave patient advocates the power to engage with candidates on the issue of drug prices.

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly 9 out of 10 voters named lowering prescription drug prices a top health care issue deciding their 2020 presidential vote. Nationwide, 35 percent of voters said drug pricing is among their most important voting issues, according to Gallup.

P4ADNow is an independent, bipartisan patient organization focused on advancing policies to lower drug prices. It does not accept funding from any organizations that profit from the development or distribution of prescription drugs. 

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