Medication insecurity on the rise

The number of American adults who say they cannot afford prescribed medicine is on the rise, according to a recent Gallup poll in partnership with West Health, a group of nonprofit and nonpartisan organizations focused on lowering health care costs for seniors. This medication insecurity—meaning a household was unable to pay for prescribed medicine or drugs at least once in the past year—has increased significantly. It affected approximately 19 percent of Americans in January and 23 percent in September. That’s roughly 58 million adults. In addition, more than 13 percent of Americans say they know at least one friend or family member who has died in the past five years after not being able to pay for needed medical treatment. Other poll highlights: The public isn’t impressed with the Trump administration on this front. Only 7 percent say it has accomplished “a great deal,” while 66 percent say it has accomplished “not very much/none at all.”