Staying Fit
A strong majority of age 50-plus registered voters say that the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines shows that the government can successfully negotiate with drug manufacturers for lower prices, according to a new AARP survey. The poll also shows that 58 percent of older adults are worried about affording their prescriptions.
About 3 in 4 of those responding to AARP's survey said they regularly take a prescription drug. Nearly one-fifth (19 percent) said they had not filled a doctor's prescription in the past two years, with the most common reason being that they could not pay for them.
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"Medications don't work if you cannot afford to take them,” said Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president and chief advocacy and engagement officer. “Congress and the president must act now to lower unfair drug prices and make sure all Americans can afford the medications they need."
The survey revealed overwhelming support for five key solutions that AARP has been urging elected officials to adopt to help make prescriptions more affordable. These include:
- Allowing Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers for lower prices
- Capping out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for older adults
- Preventing drug companies from charging more for drugs in the United States than in other countries
- Closing loopholes that let brand-name pharmaceutical companies charge high prices for copycat drugs or drugs for which they make only minor changes
- Penalizing drugmakers that raise their prices higher than inflation. A recent AARP Price Watch report found that retail prices for some of the most used prescription drugs have been increasing twice as much as inflation.
An overwhelming number (87 percent) of 50-plus voters want Congress to act to lower drug prices, with strong support among Democrats (91 percent), Republicans (81 percent) and independents (89 percent). The margins were also consistently high among Blacks (89 percent) and Hispanics (87 percent).
"The survey shows overall that voters 50-plus want action this year, and they want to see things that lower prices across the board,” said John Hishta, AARP senior vice president for campaigns. “This tells you that these are very popular across party lines, and it's one of the few issues that you can point to where everybody agrees."
Strong support for Medicare Rx proposals
