KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION POLL: MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SUPPORT DRUG IMPORTATION

Reposted with permission from the Kaiser Family Foundation

A new Kaiser Family Foundation study highlights Americans’ perspective on potential approaches for addressing high prescription drug costs. Six in 10 respondents identified lowering the cost of prescription drugs as a top priority for the current Administration and Congress.

Public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation designed and analyzed The Kaiser Health Tracking Survey, which suggested nine different potential policy actions. Among the policy actions included in the survey, allowing Americans to buy prescription drugs imported from Canada is supported by 72 percent of those surveyed. Purchasing prescription drugs from online Canadian pharmacies, another solution included in the survey, is supported by 64 percent of respondents. Examining further the public’s views on importation and its impact on costs, quality and safety, the majority of people surveyed believe that importation would make prescription medications more affordable without sacrificing safety or quality. Furthermore, the majority of people surveyed did not believe that importation would expose Americans to unsafe prescription medications or result in less focus on R&D activities among U.S. pharmaceutical companies.

The full survey results can be access at this link.