Voters: Big Pharma and Government Mandates are Raising Healthcare Costs
The cost of healthcare and prescription drugs in Texas is rising at an alarming rate. Understandably, Texas lawmakers want to tackle that problem by identifying gaps and inefficiencies in our system, cracking down on bad actors, and incentivizing fairness in pricing. But who do voters hold responsible for price increases? Who do voters identify as bad actors? And what inefficiencies are voters concerned about?
To get to the bottom of that, we commissioned survey research through by Baselice & Associates, one of Texas’ premier polling firms, to ask and answer those questions. Their survey of 701 registered voters was conducted from Aug. 21- Aug. 27, with a margin of error of +/- 3.7%.
Here’s some of what we found:
Voters blame pharmaceutical companies and the government for price increase, but there is a partisanship gap.
When asked - “Which of the following do you believe is most responsible for the high cost of health care and prescription drugs in Texas?” – a majority identified either pharmaceutical companies (34%) or the government (25%) as the likely cost-drivers. Health insurance companies (19%) came in a distant third, with Pharmacy Benefit Managers (5%), a frequent boogey man at the State Capitol, barely registering.
Partisanship plays a role here. Republicans were most likely to blame government (33%) for cost increases, followed by Pharma (30%). Democrats, on the other hand, were much more likely to blame Pharma (40%) than government (16%).
Hostility to Big Pharma is shared by both parties, but particularly pronounced with Democrats.
Seventy-five percent of voters said they believe that “Pharmaceutical companies charge unreasonably high prices for their drugs because they know that sick patients have no choice but to keep buying them.” But that number when up to 81% among Democrats, with 70% of Republicans saying the same.
Seventy-one percent said they believe that “pharmaceutical companies have too much influence over Texas lawmakers.” Again, that number was substantially higher among Democrats, at 81%, than Republicans, at 62%.
When it comes to healthcare, Republicans believe the government is hurting them and driving up costs.
The partisan divide is even more pronounced when it comes to the role of government, where Republicans are likely to think they are being actively harmed by the state. Our survey asked: “Lawmakers in Texas are considering legislation that could change the benefits you receive through your health care and prescription drug coverage. In general, do you think government involvement in health care is helpful or harmful?” A plurality (45%) of all voters said harmful, while 38% said helpful. Republicans and Democrats, however, were likely to hold opposite views. Fifty-three percent of Republican voters believe the state’s involvement is harmful, with just 27% saying it was helpful. Democrats reported the opposite, with 53% cheering the role of government and 35% saying it was harmful.
52 percent of all voters agreed with the statement that “Government mandates often drive-up costs and benefit special interest groups instead of patients and families.” Again, partisanship is playing a big role here, with 60% of Republicans reporting they agree with that statement versus just 40% of Democrats.
Voters in both parties want a “pause” on new mandates and more transparency in legislating.
Sixty-eight percent of all voters say they would support a new law to “require the state to disclose the impact of any proposed legislation that would raise the cost of health care or prescription drugs.” On this issue, support is bipartisan, with 70% of Republicans supporting a new transparency law and 69% of Democrats saying the same.
Sixty-six percent of all voters say they support the Legislature “putting a moratorium -- or a pause -- on all new healthcare mandates until they are able to accurately measure the impact on healthcare and prescription drug costs to consumers.” Again, this has bipartisan support among both Republicans (69%) and Democrats (63%).
Our takeaway: Lawmakers should listen to voters by reigning in pharmaceutical companies and acting transparently.
Voters are sending two clear messages when it comes to healthcare prices
they don’t like the way big pharmaceutical companies do business or price their products; and
they don’t want the Legislature writing new mandates if they can’t guarantee those mandates won’t raise prices.
Lawmakers should listen, by pursuing legislation that makes it easier for them to access generic drugs and harder to game the patent system. They should also revisit legislation introduced in 2023 like SB 1581, which would have created a new advisory committee at the University of Texas Health Science Center to prepare cost analyses of any proposed new mandate in health care.
Finally, one last data point for lawmakers to consider: despite rising costs, 67% of all voters report being satisfied with their health insurance coverage and 66% report being satisfied with their Rx drug coverage. With that in mind, lawmakers should be careful about dismantling a system which – despite cost increases – is working for many Texans.
Voters have shown a clear preference for policies that address a power imbalance favoring big pharmaceutical companies and a suspicion of expensive new government mandates. We hope our lawmakers take that to heart!