Fact check: Warren claims 36 million Americans can't afford prescription drugs

[riversedge]

seems to be even more that she stated.



Live Updates
Democratic debate in New Hampshire

By Fernando Alfonso III and Veronica Rocha, CNN
Updated 10:32 p.m. ET, February 7, 2020

8 min ago
Fact check: Warren claims 36 million Americans can't afford prescription drugs


https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/democratic-debate-live/index.html

From CNN's Tami Luhby

Joe Raedle/Getty Images


The high cost of health care was front and center at the Democratic debate in New Hampshire Friday night.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that “36 million Americans last year couldn’t afford to have a prescription filled, and that includes people with health insurance.”

Facts first: Multiple studies show that millions of Americans can’t afford their medications. While it’s unclear which study Warren is referencing, Warren’s campaign did previously tell PolitiFact that she was referencing a 2019 Commonwealth Fund report when she made a similar point late last year. And by that measure she’s close — that report found that 37 million adults age 19 to 64 did not fill a prescription in 2018 because of cost. The study notes that many people with insurance coverage still face financial difficulties because they have high deductibles or out-of-pocket costs. 

Other studies also show that Americans have trouble affording their prescription drugs. A 2019 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found that 11.4% of adults age 18 to 64 did not take their medication as prescribed to reduce costs in 2017, while 19.5% asked their doctor for a lower-cost alternative.

Meanwhile, a 2019 survey from Gallup and West Health found that 58 million adults reported an inability to pay for needed drugs in past year.

One bright spot: Things used to be worse. Before the Affordable Care Act went to effect in 2014, even more Americans had trouble filling prescriptions, according to the Commonwealth report. In 2012, some 50 million people did not fill their prescriptions.  

President Trump and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said they want to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, but little has been done.