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Health Care Costs and Financing

AARP New York Election Survey: Prescription Drugs – Executive Summaries for State Senate District 2, 3, 35, and 49

Research Report

Katherine Bridges, M.G.S., AARP Knowledge Management

October 2006


As prices for prescription drugs continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, concern about their affordability is increasingly weighing on the minds of growing numbers of baby boomers and older Americans. For many, paying for these medications can be a financial problem and an important factor in deciding which candidates to vote for in the November 2006 election.

These reports of surveys of age 50+ residents of New York State Senate Districts #2, #3, #35 and #49 gauge the extent of their concern about the issue and their support for proposed legislation that would

  • allow the State to purchase prescription drugs in bulk and pass the savings onto uninsured or under-insured New Yorkers
  • require drug manufacturers to report the amount of marketing money they spend on gifts to physicians to persuade them to prescribe their products

Those surveyed were also asked about how likely they are to vote in the election and how likely or unlikely they are to cast their ballots for candidates favoring these measures.

Telephone surveys of 400 randomly selected residents in each of the four districts were conducted for AARP by Woelfel Research, Inc. between October 13th and 25th, 2006. Further information about the survey may be obtained by contacting the reports’ author, Katherine Bridges, at 207-899-2094.