By SEUNG MIN KIM and LINLEY SANDERS (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is trumpeting Medicare’s new powers to negotiate directly with drugmakers on the cost of prescription medications — but a poll shows that any immediate political boost that Biden gets for enacting the overwhelmingly popular policy may be limited.
Three-quarters of Americans, or 76%, favor allowing the federal health care program for the elderly to negotiate prices for certain prescription drugs. That includes strong majorities of Democrats (86%) and Republicans (66%), according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one in five Americans are neutral on the issue, while 6% outright oppose it.
But the poll shows Biden’s approval rating, at 40%, is about where it’s been for the last year. Americans are split on how the Democratic president is handling the issue of prescription drug prices — 48% approve, making it a relative strong point for him, but 50% disapprove.
Seven in 10 Democrats approve of how Biden is handling the issue of prescription drug prices, compared to about a third of independents and about a quarter of Republicans. Even so, Republicans are still much more likely to approve of how Biden is handling prescription drug prices than they are to approve of his job efforts overall (8%).
Even among the Americans who support allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, approval of Biden’s handling of the issue remains relatively tepid. A slim majority (55%) approve, but 43% disapprove.
Interviews with poll respondents suggest that from conservative-leaning to liberal voters, Americans want the federal government to be more aggressive on negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies in order to lower medication costs. The gap between those who support the new Medicare policy — a long-sought goal of various presidents and lawmakers — and those who approve of Biden’s handling of the issue…
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