More Than Half Of Voters Have An Unfavorable Opinion Of Drug Companies, And Their Lawsuits Only Do More Damage To The Industry’s Image
 
Elected Officials Who Align Themselves With Drug Companies, Against American Voters, Do So “At Their Own Political Risk” 

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  A new national survey released today shows that Americans overwhelmingly – by more than a 5-to-1 margin – oppose the pharmaceutical industry’s lawsuits attempting to block Medicare from directly negotiating lower prescription drug prices. And by almost a 4-to-1 margin, voters reject drug company threats that lower negotiated prices will lead to fewer new treatments and cures.

“The American people understand the lawsuits to block lower drug prices through Medicare negotiation are not about looking after the best interests of patients and consumers, but about the industry seeking to restore its unilateral power to dictate prices of brand name drugs without limits in the United States,” said David Mitchell, a patient with incurable blood cancer whose drugs carry a list price of more than $960,000 per year and founder of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “The lawsuits are a naked assault against the will of the American people, and we stand with the people.”

“Efforts in Congress to undermine implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act fly in the face of the wishes of the overwhelming majority of voters – 84 percent of whom support the law, including 93 percent of Democrats, 78 percent of independents and 80 percent of Republicans,” Mitchell continued. “Elected officials who align themselves with this unpopular and greedy industry, against the will of voters, do so at their own political risk.” 

Poll results show that the respondents who viewed drug companies unfavorably jumped from half to two thirds upon hearing of the lawsuits and the arguments from both sides. The poll also found that drug companies’ argument that the Medicare negotiation law will lead to fewer cures is not believable to voters by a nearly 4-to-1 margin, and voters by a 6-to-1 margin say drug companies are opposing this law over profits, not because it violates the constitution. Consistent with previous polls, 84 percent of voters support allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with big drug companies to lower the prices of some drugs.  

“Medicare sets prices for everything else it pays for – Big Pharma has been the only player exempt from a process to arrive at a fair price,” said Merith Basey, executive director of Patients For Affordable Drugs Now. “Pharma makes a huge profit negotiating in every other high income country in the world, and those nations have better health outcomes, longer life expectancy and for lower cost. It’s in the United States that the drug industry seeks to fleece patients with unlimited pricing power.”

The national survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted August 23-27, 2023, by the bipartisan team of researchers, GS Strategy Group and Hart Research Associates. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Read the full poll memo here.

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