According to KFF poll, the ability for Medicare to negotiate drug prices remains widely popular with voters, even though most are unaware of the law and the expected savings

September 14, 2024 – Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices on behalf of older Americans remains widely popular However, many voters across party lines are unaware of the new law and the billions of dollars it is expected to save in 2026, a new KFF Health Tracking Poll shows.

A large majority (85%) of voters support allowing the federal government to negotiate the prices of some prescription drugs for Medicare beneficiaries. This includes at least three-quarters of Republican (77%), independent (89%) and Democratic (92%) voters.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 authorized such negotiations, and the Biden administration recently completed the first round of negotiations on 10 drugs, which will result in an estimated $1.5 billion in lower out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries in 2026.

The poll shows that nearly two-thirds (65%) of voters do not know or are unsure whether there is a law allowing drug price negotiations under Medicare. The proportion (62%) is similar among older voters (65+), who are generally covered by Medicare.

A large majority (75 percent) of voters also say they have not heard much about the savings that resulted from the first round of price negotiations. Almost half (45 percent) of respondents say they have heard “nothing at all.”

One in four say they have heard “a lot” (4%) or “somewhat” (21%) about the cuts. Older voters are slightly more likely to have heard either “a lot” (7%) or “somewhat” (26%) about the cuts.

Further findings:

• Most (55%) voters age 65 and older expect Medicare price negotiations to reduce their own prescription drug costs; 43% say it will have no effect. Older Democratic and Democratic-leaning independent voters are more likely to expect savings than older Republicans and Republican-leaning independent voters (64% vs. 45%).

• Minority voters are aware of other Medicare drug price provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, including the $35 cap on insulin (40%) and the annual prescription drug out-of-pocket limit (27%). Older voters are more likely to be aware of these two provisions than younger voters.
• While the Inflation Control Act passed under President Biden without Republican support in Congress, partisans are divided over who is responsible for the law's Medicare drug pricing provisions. A sizable share of GOP voters say Republicans in Congress (54%) and President Trump (39%) played either a “big” or “small” role in passing those provisions. A larger share of Democratic voters say Democrats in Congress (80%), President Biden (81%) and Vice President Harris (69%) played a role.
• Most voters would support extending the Medicare cap of $35 on monthly insulin costs (77 percent) and the $2,000 limit on out-of-pocket drug spending (69 percent) to Medicare beneficiaries, as Vice President Harris has proposed. Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independent voters support expanding each of these two provisions.
• The poll was designed and analyzed by KFF pollsters and conducted online and by phone in English and Spanish from August 26 to September 4, 2024, among a nationally representative sample of 1,312 U.S. adults, including 1,084 registered voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percentage points for the entire sample and for registered voters. The margin of error may be higher for results based on other subgroups.
  Source: KFF