FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: Monday, May 3, 2021
CONTACT: Adam Fox, afox@cohealthinitiative.org, 303-563-9108
Katie Reinisch, katie@progressive-promotions.com, 303-653-1009
89% of Democrats, 74% of Unaffiliated, and 60% of Republicans Support Creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board
DENVER — A new poll released today shows that 75% of Colorado voters support the creation of a Prescription Drug Affordability Board (PDAB). The poll conducted by Keating Research was commissioned by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, Good Business Colorado, the National MS Society, and Centennial State Prosperity. Despite considerable spending by the pharmaceutical industry to oppose patient cost savings policies, support for a PDAB remains strong across political party, age, and region of the state.
-
- Political Party: 89% of Democrats, 74% of Unaffiliated, 60% of Republicans support
- Age: 71% of voters 18-49 support and 78% of voters 50+ support
- Regions of the State:
-
- Denver and Boulder Counties: 79% support
- Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties: 73% support
- Larimer, Weld, Pueblo, and El Paso Counties: 76% support
These findings are consistent with a poll commissioned by CCHI and conducted by Magellan Strategies and RBI Strategies in December 2020 that showed a bipartisan 71% of Coloradans support a PDAB. Colorado families have been asking lawmakers to take action on the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs for years. Prescription drug prices have soared 159% over the past decade, and 1 and 3 Coloradans can’t afford the critical prescription drugs they rely on – forcing many to choose between life saving medication and rent or food. Coloradans currently pay 65 to 85% more than people in other countries for the same drugs, and prescription drugs account for over 20% of health insurance premium costs.
Senate Bill 175 would create a Prescription Drug Affordability Board, tasked with addressing the high costs of certain prescription drugs. As an independent board within the Division of Insurance, the Board will be charged with researching, reviewing, and, if appropriate, limiting costs for the most unaffordable prescription drugs and investigating when drug companies sharply increase the cost of a specific drug. Purchasers will still be able to negotiate rates for the vast majority of drugs as they currently do, and the Board will only take action on drugs that meet the certain thresholds – when costs are sky-high or rapidly increasing.
This bill is estimated to save Coloradans as much as 75% on the costs of the most unaffordable prescription drugs. You can view the full polling memo here.
###
Colorado Consumer Health Initiative is a nonpartisan, nonprofit group that represents 40+ Colorado health organizations with more than 500,000 health care consumers advocating for equitable access to high-quality, affordable health care. In 2018, CCHI received the “Get Wise” Consumer Protection award from the Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA).