By Ramona du Houx
October 7, 2021
Voters in both congressional districts support lower Rx prices and green infrastructure investments
As Congress debates the $3.5 trillion budget package, recent polling shows that nearly two-thirds of Maine voters approve of key elements of the proposal to address the high cost of prescription medication and make investments in green infrastructure to address climate change.
The poll from the Maine People’s Resource Center finds that 63 percent of Maine voters support allowing the government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare to address the high cost of medication.
Seventy five percent of Maine voters age 65 and older strongly support the proposal, and support remained strong across both congressional districts (67 percent in CD1 and 60 percent in CD2).
“I’ve been denied access to medication that I need for over a year and even if I were to get approval, there’s no guarantee that I will be able to afford it. My symptoms don’t go away while I wait and it impacts my day-to-day life and ability to thrive,” said Negina Lowe, a college student from Bangor. “No one should have to choose between paying for medication or other necessities just to get by. These results show that I’m not alone in that belief. This is a small but important step in lowering the costs of prescription drugs and I want my Representative, Jared Golden, to support it.”
The poll also found that 65 percent of Maine voters support the THRIVE Act, a proposal before Congress that would invest $1 trillion each year for the next 10 years in green jobs and infrastructure to ensure an equitable economic recovery for communities and fight climate change. Elements of the THRIVE Act have been incorporated into the budget reconciliation package before Congress. Support remained strong across both congressional districts (65 percent in CD1 and 66 percent in CD2).
“The way a society allocates its wealth reflects its moral standing. We have a moral obligation to care for the weakest and poorest among us. These days that means, in particular, caring for those who are most impacted by the pandemic and by climate change,” said Reverend Stephen Carnahan of Auburn. “This means creating a moral budget that addresses economic inequality. We need to move to a greener society and create green jobs. We need to build a cleaner, stronger infrastructure. We need our representatives in Washington to support this critical investment in our future.”
The survey of 528 Maine voters was conducted in late July and has a statistical margin of error of +/- 4.3 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.
Both price negotiation and climate change measures saw majority support across all demographic groups, with the strongest support for the THRIVE Act among younger Mainers and the strongest support for pharmaceutical price negotiation among those over age 65.
