“Given recent news about some high-cost prescription drugs and the debate about who should pay for them, this month’s Kaiser Health Tracking Poll has a special focus on the issue. Nearly three-quarters of the public think that the cost of prescription drugs is unreasonable. Americans place much of the blame with the drug companies saying they set prices too high and that company profits are a major factor in drug pricing. About half say there isn’t enough government regulation limiting the price of prescription medicines and 12 percent say there is too much. Overall, half of the public reports currently taking a prescription medicine, with about 1 in 5 of them saying they or a family member have skipped doses or cut pills in half due to cost or that they have a hard time affording them– rising to about a third among those with lower incomes. Asked about who should pay for high drug costs, about 7 in 10 of the public says health insurance should always pay if no lower-cost alternative exists, even if it leads to higher premiums for others. However, a majority says that insurance should only pay if the drug has been proven more effective than existing treatments. The poll also finds that most of the public still hasn’t heard much about the Supreme Court case on whether people in states with federal marketplaces are eligible for financial assistance to purchase health insurance. Most feel that Congress and states should act if the Court rules for the plaintiffs, but there is no agreement among partisans. Opinion on the law overall remains divided, with 42 percent of the public reporting an unfavorable view and 39 percent reporting a favorable one, statistically unchanged from when we last asked the question in April.”