In April 2005, nearly eight in ten (77%) adults supported the idea of Congress allowing the federal government to use its buying power to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices on prescription drugs for people on Medicare. One in seven (14%) adults opposed this idea. Support for this policy has been consistently strong since August 2004.

Nearly eight in ten (78%) adults viewed government negotiation of prices as a way to make medicines more affordable for people on Medicare and almost seven in ten (68%) said this plan makes sense because the government already negotiates prices for other groups such as the Defense Department and Veteran’s Administration.

Views were somewhat mixed in April 2005 on the argument that allowing the government to negotiate drug prices will lead drug companies to do less research and development: nearly six in ten (57%) adults disagreed with this argument, while fewer than four in ten (35%) agreed.