Much of the media attention critical of the pharmacy industry focuses on the lobbying actions directly with lawmakers and administrative officials. But there is another potentially more powerful force available to the industry.
Seniors are overwhelmingly satisfied with their prescription drug plans. The pharmacy industry has taken action to make it clear that senior voters would be likely to vote out of office an elected official who damages those prescription drug benefits.
The latest demonstration of this power base is the focus of a polling report by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association released on Mar 18
, 2019. The leading point of the press release accompanying the poll result said “Senior registered voters enrolled in Medicare Part D will be less likely to support the reelection of their members of Congress and presidential candidates if those elected officials back proposals eliminating prescription drug negotiations and price concessions that would result in Part D premium increases
, according to a new poll from North Star Opinion Research”. Point taken.
The pharmacy industry wants us all to know: the political power of the status quo cannot be ignored.