Caps on prescription drug prices most popular element of reconciliation bill: poll

A provision that limits the price of prescription drugs included in Democrats’ climate, health care and tax deal is the most popular piece of the legislation, according to a new Morning Consult-Politico poll.

The poll asked respondents to voice their opinion on 12 different aspects of the reconciliation bill. Fifty-one percent indicated they strongly supported caps on prescription drug prices, and 77 percent of voters said they at least somewhat supported the provision, which clocked in as the element with the highest level of support.

The legislation would require pharmaceutical companies to pay rebates if they hike the prices of existing drugs faster than inflation in either the Medicare or private markets.

Other health care provisions in the bill also polled favorably.

Forty-three percent of respondents strongly supported an element that would allow Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain drugs, and the element received some level of support from 73 percent of respondents.

Seventy-two percent of respondents indicated support for a provision that would cap Medicare beneficiaries’ out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs at $2,000 by 2025. Forty-four percent said they strongly supported the element.

All but two of the 12 provisions asked in the poll received majority support.

One element that seeks to raise revenue by increasing IRS funding, so the agency can step up its enforcement of the nation’s tax laws, received 43 percent support among respondents.

Thirty-nine percent of respondents said they opposed the measure, and 18 percent said they didn’t know or had no opinion.

Exactly half of respondents said they supported another element that would offer tax credits for individuals to buy electric vehicles. Thirty-three percent said they opposed the measure, and 17 percent said they didn’t know or had no opinion.

Democrats are hoping to pass the package through the Senate before the upper chamber leaves for its August recess.

But the package would require all 50 Senate Democrats’ support, assuming every Republican votes against the bill.

Democrats are closely watching Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who has not yet announced a position on the bill and previously expressed opposition to one of the package’s provisions that would close the carried interest loophole, which enables money managers to reduce their tax rates.

Fellow moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who cut the reconciliation deal with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) behind closed doors last week, spoke with Sinema on Tuesday to lobby her support for the package.

The poll was conducted July 29-31 through online interviews with 2,006 registered voters. The data was weighted to approximate a target sample of registered voters, and the margin of error is plus or minus 2 percentage points.