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US opinion on prescription drug affordability

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In June 2021, non-profit organization, Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) research, released the results of KFF Health Tracking Poll (18–25 May 2021) regarding public opinion on prescription drugs and their prices in the US.

The results of the poll revealed that just over half of adults reported currently taking at least one prescription drug, with almost a quarter reporting that they currently take four of more prescription medications, see Table 1.

With regards to affordability, almost 80% of adults said that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. However, the majority (74%) of those currently taking prescription drugs reported that affording their prescriptions is easy.

Table 1: Breakdown of the number of drugs taken by the 52% of poll contributors who currently take prescription drugs
Number of drugs taken by contributors	% of poll contributors taking this quantity of prescription drugs
Take 1 prescription medicine	11
Take 2 prescription medicines	10
Take 3 prescription medicines	7
Take 4 or more prescription medicines	23

Overall, the poll has revealed that affordability is more of a concern for those taking more prescription medicines, those spending more on prescription drugs, those with low income and those in relatively poor health. For example, 35 % of those taking four or more prescription drugs say they have difficulty affording their prescriptions, whereas 17% of those who take three or fewer prescription medications report difficulty, see Table 2.

Table 2: Breakdown of the characteristics of poll contributors who report difficulty affording the cost of their prescription drugs
Characteristics	% of contributors reporting difficulty affording medications
Number of medications taking
1 to 3	17
4 ore more	35
Monthly spending on prescriptions
Less than $100	17
More than $100	58
Health status
Excellent/very good/good	30
Fair/poor	49
Household income
Less than $40,000	35
Between $40,000–$89,999	21
More than $90,000	11

The poll has also revealed that almost 30% of adults reported not taking their medicines as prescribed at some point in the past year due to cost. Of these individuals, just under 40% reported not filing prescriptions or taking over-the-counter drugs instead, and over 10% reported halving or skipping doses.

In addition, the poll revealed that people believe more needs to be done in terms of regulation, to improve the affordability of prescription drugs [1].

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Reference
1. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. US opinion on prescription drug price and regulation [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2021 Sep 24]. Available from: www.gabionline.net/reports/us-opinion-on-prescription-drug-price-and-regulation

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