When it comes to prescription medications a new survey shows Americana believe they are beneficial to their health, but are too expensive. Half of all adults say that they take a prescription drug daily, and one in five say that they take at least four prescription drugs regularly. Some people say they have to opt for a generic brand, if it’s available, to save money. Others say they skip a few days of their medications to lessen the financial burden.
A poll conducted by USA Today and public opinion researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health looked into the opinions Americans have about prescription medications.
Here are the findings:
- Nearly eight in 10 Americans say that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable, and seven in 10 say pharmaceutical companies are too concerned about making profits and not concerned enough about helping people.
- Nearly two-thirds of the public say that there is not enough government regulation to limit the price of drugs. Nearly six in 10 say insurers should only pay for new drugs if they are proven to be not just safe but also more effective than existing ones.
- The public overwhelmingly believes that recent advances in prescription drugs provide benefits. Nearly three-quarters say that prescription drugs developed over the past 20 years have made the lives of people in the U.S. better, and nearly two-thirds say the same about their own and their family members’ lives.
- Six in 10 say prescription drugs reduce the need for expensive medical procedures and hospitalizations.
- Almost all Americans have seen or heard prescription drug ads, and nearly a third have talked to a doctor about a prescription drug they saw advertised.
- More than half the public thinks pharmaceutical companies do enough to test and monitor the safety of their drugs, and the same share trust pharmaceutical companies at least somewhat to quickly notify the public about safety concerns.
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