A clear plurality (almost half) of American consumers blame drug makers for high drug costs, according to a new Google Consumer Survey conducted for American Pharmacy News.
When asked who they think is most to blame for high drug costs, 49.5 percent of respondents said “drug companies.” While 19.3 percent said they don’t know or refused to answer, 13 percent blamed the federal government.
11.9 percent blame health insurance companies, 3.9 percent blame pharmacy benefit managers, and only 2.4 percent blame doctors and hospitals.
The survey was conducted January 27th through 29th, 2017 among 2,400 respondents nationwide, and comes only a few weeks after a Harris Poll showed that only nine percent of U.S. consumers believe “pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies put patients over profits.”
Among respondents, those age 65 and over were most likely (58 percent) to blame drug companies, and age 18-24 were least likely (38.6%.)
Respondents age 18-24 were most likely (17.8%) to blame the federal government, and those age 45-54 were most likely (15.5 percent) to blame health insurance companies.
These results come as the healthcare industry is waiting to see what action, if any, the Trump Administration will take to deal with the issue of prescription drug costs.
In a January 11, 2017 press conference, then-President-Elect Trump accused drug makers of “getting away with murder” and said that “Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power.”
Last week, U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, confirmed to the Washington Examiner that he and President Trump have agreed to meet to discuss the issue of prescription drug costs, saying the meeting is “ “a big deal for me.”
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