With enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies set to expire at the end of this year, health care affordability was a contentious issue in the recent government shutdown. Both political parties are making policy proposals aimed at lowering prescription drug costs for American families.
The Trump administration recently announced several actions addressing the cost of prescription drugs. The latest KFF Health Tracking Poll found that prescription drug costs remain a problem for many Americans. About 1 in 4 adults say they or someone living with them have had problems paying for prescription drugs in the past 12 months. This number rises to 41% among uninsured adults and about one-third among Hispanic and Black adults and those with annual household incomes of less than $40,000.
However, many Americans are not convinced that the administration’s proposals will benefit them. Although three-quarters of Republicans and more than 8 in 10 MAGA-supporting Republicans say they believe it t is either very or somewhat likely that the administration will lower prescription drug costs for people like them, only one-third of independents and 9% of Democrats feel the same way.
The administration is attempting to reduce costs for GLP-1 drugs used for weight loss and treatment of diabetes and other chronic conditions. One in five adults now reports having taken a GLP-1 drug, including 12% who say they currently are doing so (a 6 percentage point increase from 18 months ago). Although most GLP-1 users say their insurance covers at least some of the cost, more than half say these drugs are difficult to afford. About one-quarter of users report paying the entire cost of the medication themselves despite having insurance.
Nearly half of people who say they have been diagnosed with diabetes report currently using a GLP-1 medication, along with 29% of adults who say they have been diagnosed with heart disease and about a quarter of those who report being diagnosed as overweight or obese in the past five years. Across age groups, current GLP-1 use is highest among those aged 50 to 64.
Although GLP-1 drugs are widely available from direct-to-consumer websites and, increasingly, directly from drug manufacturers, three-quarters of adults who have taken these medications say they got them from their primary health care provider or a specialist. About 1 in 6 reports purchasing them from an online provider or website, and fewer say they got a GLP-1 from a medical spa or aesthetic medical center (9%).
Among the 18% of adults who report having used GLP-1 drugs, 84% say they have been diagnosed with at least one of the predominant conditions these drugs are prescribed to treat. These include obesity or being overweight in the past five years (77%), diabetes (49%) and heart disease (21%). Conversely, 15% of GLP-1 users say they have not been diagnosed with any of these conditions by a medical provider.