Poll: Both parties need to do more on drug prices

A majority of voters thinks that both parties need to do more to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, according to a poll released early Friday by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

An overwhelming majority, 80 percent, said prescription drug costs are unreasonable, and about half said passing legislation to bring down prescription costs should be a “top priority” for President Trump and Congress.

The survey also found that 72 percent of respondents think pharmaceutical companies have too much influence in Washington — more than say the same about the National Rifle Association.

Overall, more than three in four respondents said that congressional Republicans, congressional Democrats and Trump and his administration all aren’t doing enough to bring drug costs down.

{mosads}Trump has railed about the high price of prescription drugs throughout his first year in office. His tough talk on drug manufacturers dates back to the 2016 presidential campaign, when he blasted the pharmaceutical industry as “getting away with murder.”

Trump also backed allowing Medicare to negotiate directly with drug companies and endorsed expanding importation of cheaper medicine.

Earlier this week, he said the administration will soon be unveiling a slate of drug pricing policies.

“You’ll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially in the not-so-distant future, and it’s going to be beautiful,” Trump said during a press conference on opioids in New Hampshire.

But the poll’s respondents were skeptical of what the administration will do. According to Kaiser, only 39 percent said they have confidence that Trump will deliver on the promise to lower drug costs.

The vast majority of Democrats, at 91 percent, and independents, 80 percent, said Trump and his White House “are not doing enough” on the issue.

But Republicans were more supportive: 56 percent said he is “not doing enough” and about one-third said his administration is “doing enough.”

An increasing number of people say they don’t trust either party to bring down prescription drug prices. The share of the public who explicitly said “neither,” when asked which party they trust on the issue rose from 12 percent in 2016 to 21 percent this year.

Vast majorities of both Republicans and Democrats said they trust their own political party to do a better job handling the drug pricing issue, at 78 percent and 84 percent, respectively. Very few said they trust the opposing party — 4 percent and 5 percent, respectively.

The survey was conducted March 8-13 among 1,212 adults ages 18 and older. Its margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points.