THE FULL SURVEY: PART II

September 2000
		The following survey conducted by the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health provides extensive information about public perception of prescription drug coverage. Click here to view to the first half of the full survey. Click here to go to the Prescription Drug Special Report.

	42. Last time you got a prescription for a drug you had never taken before, how confident were you that you had enough information about the drug? Would you say very confident, somewhat confident, not very confident, or not at all confident?   Confident Not confident     NET Very Somewhat NET Not very Not at all Don’t know Total Respondents 87 55 32 11 7 4 2 Under 65 87 53 34 11 7 4 2 65+ 84 63 21 12 7 6 4 43. Have you ever looked for information about a prescription drug on the Internet?   Yes No Don’t have access to Internet Don’t know Total Respondents 22 75 2 * Under 65 25 74 1 * 65+ 7 85 9 -   44. (Asked of total respondents who have looked on the Internet for information of prescription drugs) For each of the following, please tell me if this was a reason you looked for information on the Internet? Did you look for information on the Internet because …(READ ITEMS)? How about…(READ NEXT ITEM)?   Total Respondents Yes No Don’t know a. You were looking for information before you went to see your doctor 37 63 * c. You had questions about the drug that you thought of after you’d already seen your doctor and pharmacist 68 31 1 d. You had questions about the drug that you were not comfortable asking your doctor or pharmacist 17 83 * e. You had questions about the drug that your doctor or pharmacist was not able to answer clearly enough 30 70 - f. You wanted to find a cheaper drug 8 92 -   45. How often would you say you get advice from your friends or family about which prescription drugs to take?   Often Not very often/almost never     NET Very Somewhat NET Not very Almost never Don’t know Total Respondents 20 6 14 80 19 61 * Under 65 22 7 16 78 19 58 * 65+ 10 4 7 89 15 75 *
	Information dissemination
	46. Please tell me how much you trust each of the following sources to provide accurate information about prescription medicines. (First,) what about… (READ ITEMS)? (READ FIRST TIME, THEN AS NECESSARY: Do you trust them a lot, somewhat, not too much, or not at all (to provide accurate information about prescription medicines)?)   A lot/Somewhat Not too much/Not at all   Total Respondents NET A lot Somewhat NET Not too much Not at all Don’t know a. Your doctor 95 73 22 4 3 2 1 b. Your pharmacist 93 65 28 6 3 3 1 c. Your family and friends 61 22 38 38 18 20 1 d. Government agencies like the FDA – that is, the Food and Drug Administration   80   35   45   18   10   8   2 e. e. Advertisements for prescription medicines     48   7   41   50   28   23   1 f. The information about the product included in packages of prescription medicine   89   47   42   10   7   3   1     A lot/Somewhat Not too much/Not at all   Under 65 NET A lot Somewhat NET Not too much Not at all Don’t know a. Your doctor 95 72 23 5 3 2 1 b. Your pharmacist 93 63 30 6 3 3 1 c. Your family and friends 64 23 41 36 19 17 1 d. Government agencies like the FDA – that is, the Food and Drug Administration   82   36   45   17   10   7   1 e. e. Advertisements for prescription medicines     51   7   44   48   28   20   1 f. The information about the product included in packages of prescription medicine   90   47   43   9   6   3   1       A lot/Somewhat Not too much/Not at all   65+ NET A lot Somewhat NET Not too much Not at all Don’t know a. Your doctor 96 80 17 3 2 1 * b. Your pharmacist 94 77 17 5 2 3 1 c. Your family and friends 46 23 22 51 16 34 4 d. Government agencies like the FDA – that is, the Food and Drug Administration   71   27   44   22   10   12   7 e. e. Advertisements for prescription medicines     35   8   28   61   25   35   4 f. The information about the product included in packages of prescription medicine   82   47   35   15   9   6   3   Now I have a question about drugs that you can buy over-the-counter, WITHOUT a prescription from a doctor, like a cough or cold medicine or painkillers like aspirin or Tylenol. Over-the-counter drugs do NOT include vitamins and herbal medicines like St. John’s Wort and ginseng. 47. Do you take any over-the-counter drugs regularly during certain seasons of the year, like for seasonal allergies?   Yes No Don’t know Total Respondents 36 64 - Under 65 38 62 - 65+ 28 72 - 48. Not including any drugs you take seasonally, how often would you say you take over-the-counter drugs? Would you say regularly, sometimes, hardly ever, or never?   Regularly Sometimes Hardly ever Never Don’t know Total Respondents 21 38 33 8 * Under 65 19 39 34 7 * 65+ 29 30 29 12 -     49. (Asked of total respondents who take over-the-counter drugs) How many different over-the-counter drugs would you say you are taking or using on a regular basis right now? By regular basis, we mean on an ongoing basis or always during a particular season. Would you say one, two, three, more than that, or none?     None One Two Three Four Five or more Don’t know Total Respondents 37 37 18 7 1 1 * Under 65 38 36 17 7 1 1 * 65+ 29 40 20 7 2 2 1   46/48/49 SUMMARY TABLE Take over-the-counter drugs NET One Two Three Four Five or more Never Total Respondents 93 34 16 7 1 1 7 Under 65 93 34 16 7 1 1 7 65+ 89 35 17 6 2 1 11   50. (Asked of total respondents who take over-the-counter drugs) When you buy over-the-counter drugs, do you usually get a name brand drug or a generic drug?   Usually get name brand drug Usually get generic drug Both about equally Don’t know Total Respondents 53 36 9 2 Under 65 53 37 9 1 65+ 54 33 8 4   47/48/50 SUMMARY TABLE   NET Usually get name brand drug Usually get generic drug Both about equally Never Total Respondents 93 49 33 9 7 Under 65 93 49 34 9 7 65+ 89 48 29 8 11
	Prescription drug advertizing
	Now I have some questions about prescription drug advertisements. 51. In the last year, have you seen (or heard) any advertisements for prescription medicine…(READ ITEMS)? Total Respondents Yes No Don’t know a. On a billboard 32 66 3 b In a newspaper or magazine 73 26 1 c. On the TV or radio 86 14 1 d. On the Internet 15 84 1 e. In a letter, flyer, or announcement you got in the mail 33 65 1 f. From some other source I haven’t mentioned 6 93 1   Under 65 Yes No Don’t know a. On a billboard 34 63 3 b In a newspaper or magazine 74 25 1 c. On the TV or radio 88 12 * d. On the Internet 17 82 1 e. In a letter, flyer, or announcement you got in the mail 32 67 1 f. From some other source I haven’t mentioned 7 93 *   65+ Yes No Don’t know a. On a billboard 19 76 5 b In a newspaper or magazine 65 34 1 c. On the TV or radio 75 24 1 d. On the Internet 4 96 1 e. In a letter, flyer, or announcement you got in the mail 37 59 4 f. From some other source I haven’t mentioned 3 96 2   52. (Asked of total respondents who have seen or heard advertisements for prescription medicine) We’d like you to rate the job these advertisements for prescription medicines generally do in telling you about each of the following. What about…(READ ITEMS)? READ FIRST TIME, THEN AS NECESSARY: Do these advertisements do an excellent job, a good job, only a fair job, or poor job of telling you about this?   Excellent/Good Only fair/Poor   Total Respondents NET Excellent Good NET Only fair Poor Don’t know a. The potential benefits you might experience 58 12 46 40 32 8 3 b. b. The potential side effects you might experience 45 9 36 52 35 17 3 c. What condition or disease the drug is designed to treat 51 9 42 45 35 10 4     Excellent/Good Only fair/Poor   Under 65 NET Excellent Good NET Only fair Poor Don’t know a. The potential benefits you might experience 59 13 47 39 32 7 1 b. b. The potential side effects you might experience 45 8 37 53 36 17 2 c. What condition or disease the drug is designed to treat 52 9 43 45 35 10 3       Excellent/Good Only fair/Poor   65+ NET Excellent Good NET Only fair Poor Don’t know a. The potential benefits you might experience 45 8 37 43 32 11 11 b. b. The potential side effects you might experience 46 14 32 46 29 17 8 c. What condition or disease the drug is designed to treat 46 8 38 42 33 10 12   53. (Asked of total respondents who have not seen or heard advertisements for prescription medicine in the past year) Have you ever seen or heard any advertisements for prescription medicine?   Yes No Don’t know Total Respondents 21 76 2 Under 65 22 76 2 65+ 22 78 1 51/53 SUMMARY TABLE       NET Saw/heard advertisement in past 12 months Saw/heard advertisement ever but not in past year Never saw/heard advertisement   Don’t know Total Respondents 93 91 2 6 * Under 65 94 92 2 6 * 65+ 88 86 3 10 *   55. (Asked of total respondents who have seen or heard advertisements for prescription medicine) As a result of seeing an ad for a prescription medicine, have you ever talked with a doctor about the specific medicine you saw or heard advertised, or not?   Yes No Don’t know Total Respondents 37 63 * Under 65 37 63 * 65+ 36 64 *     56. (Asked of total respondents who have talked with a doctor about the specific medicine they saw or heard advertised) Did you specifically ask your doctor to prescribe the medicine you saw advertised or did you just talk to your doctor about the medicine?   Asked doctor to prescribe Just talked to doctor Don’t know Total Respondents 20 80 - Under 65 22 78 - 65+ 10 90 -   51/53/55/56 SUMMARY TABLE   Have seen or heard ad for prescription medicine           Ever talked to doctor             NET     SUBNET Asked doctor to prescribe Did not ask doctor to prescribe Never talked to doctor Have never seen ad for Rx medicine   Don’t know Total Respondents 93 34 7 27 58 6 * Under 65 94 35 8 27 59 6 * 65+ 88 32 3 29 56 10 *   65. Would you say that your health in general is…(READ ITEMS)   Excellent/Very Good   Fair/Poor     NET Excellent Very good Good NET Fair Poor Don’t know Total Respondents 56 24 31 26 18 13 5 * Under 65 59 27 32 25 16 12 4 * 65+ 39 13 26 32 28 20 8 1 66. Do you have an ongoing or a serious health problem like heart disease, cancer, arthritis, or a mental health condition that requires frequent medical care, for example, regular doctor visits, or daily medications?   Yes No Don’t know Total Respondents 26 74 * Under 65 21 79 * 65+ 53 47 *   D1. What is your marital status? Are you currently married, living as married, separated, divorced, widowed, or have you never been married?     Married Living as married Separated Divorced Widowed Never been married Don’t know Total Respondents 54 4 1 10 9 22 * Under 65 55 5 1 11 3 25 - 65+ 46 * 1 7 41 3 *   D2. Are you currently working full-time, working part-time, or are you retired, unemployed, a student, a homemaker, or something else?   Total Respondents Under 65 65+ Working (NET) 66 76 14 Working full time 55 65 7 Working part time 11 11 7 Retired 16 4 78 Unemployed 5 5 3 A student 4 5 - Homemaker 7 7 4 Something else 2 3 1 Don’t know * - - D3. Are you self-employed or do you work for someone else? D2/D3 SUMMARY TABLE   Total Respondents Under 65 65+ Working full-time (NET) 55 65 7 Self-employed 6 7 2 Work for someone else 49 57 5 Working part-time (NET) 11 11 7 Self-employed 2 2 1 Work for someone else 8 9 6 Retired 16 4 78 Unemployed 5 5 3 A student 4 5 - Homemaker 7 7 4 Something else 2 3 1 Don’t know * - -   D4. What is the LAST grade or class that you COMPLETED in school?   Total Respondents Under 65 65+ High school graduate or less (NET) 51 48 68 Less than high school (SUBNET) 18 15 35 High school graduate (SUBNET) 33 33 33 Some college or more (NET) 49 52 32 Some college, no 4-year degree 26 28 18 College graduate + (SUBNET) 22 24 14 Don’t know * * - D5. What is your age?   18-29 30-49 50-64 65+ Total Respondents 22 42 19 16 Under 65 27 50 23 - 65+ - - - 100 D6. Are you, yourself, of Hispanic or Latino background, such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or other Latin American background?   Yes No Don’t know Total Respondents 10 90 - Under 65 11 89 - 65+ 5 95 - D7. What is your race? Are you white, black, Asian, or some other race?   White Black/African American Asian Other/mixed Don’t Know Total Respondents 79 12 1 7 * Under 65 78 13 1 8 * 65+ 86 10 - 4 *   RACE SUMMARY TABLE   Total Respondents Under 65 65+ White Non-Hispanic 74 72 83 Black/African-American Non-Hispanic 11 12 10 Asian American 1 1 - Some other race 3 4 2 Hispanic (NET) 10 11 5 Don’t Know * * -   D8. In politics today, do you consider yourself a Republican, Democrat, or Independent?       Republican     Democrat     Independent No pref/not interested in politics   Other party   Don’t Know Total Respondents 27 33 31 7 1 1 Under 65 26 32 32 8 1 1 65+ 29 41 23 5 * 1 D9. Last year -- that is, in 1999 -- what was your total family income from all sources, before taxes? Was it (READ ITEMS) D10/11. Just stop me when I get to the right category. Was it (READ ITEMS)   Total Respondents Under 65 65+ LESS THAN $50,000 (NET) 59 56 75 Less than $20,000 (SUBNET) 22 19 38 $20,000 to under $30,000 (SUBNET) 14 14 15 30,000 to under $50,000 (SUBNET) 20 21 15 Less than $50,000 (unspec) 2 2 7 $50,000 OR MORE (NET) 37 41 17 Don’t Know 4 3 8   The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health National Survey on Prescription Drugs: Additional Questions PD-1 Medicare, the program that provides health insurance primarily to people age 65 and older, does not currently pay for prescription medicines. Which ONE of the following three statements comes closest to your opinion about what the government should do about coverage for prescription medicines for seniors? Do you think the government should…   Help cover the costs of prescription medicines for ALL seniors - even if it means using MORE money from the federal budget surplus and an increase in the premiums seniors pay Help cover the costs of prescription medicines for only LOW-INCOME seniors - even if it means using money from the federal budget surplus that could be used for other national priorities Keep things the way they are now and not add a prescription drug benefit Don’t know Total Respondents 49 38 10 3   PD-2 I’m going to read you two proposals to help people age 65 and over to pay for prescription drugs. Please tell me which of those two proposals you would prefer. (READ ITEMS) Which do you prefer, (expanding Medicare) or (government help to buy PRIVATE health insurance plans)? 1 Expanding Medicare to pay directly for part of prescription medicine costs for people age 65 and over 2 Having the federal government help people age 65 and over to buy PRIVATE health insurance plans that would pay part of their prescription medicine costs   Expanding Medicare Having Federal Government help people Both equally Neither Don’t know Total Respondents 58 32 1 5 4   PD-3 (Asked of total respondents who prefer one of the two proposals) Still thinking about prescription drugs for people age 65 and over (READ ITEMS) b. People who favor providing drug coverage to seniors through the Medicare program say it guarantees that the same coverage is available to all seniors, and say that private insurers won’t make prescription drug insurance policies available to everyone On the other hand… a. People who favor providing drug coverage to seniors through private insurance companies say this gives seniors a greater choice of plans and minimizes government control over prescription drug benefits and prices. Having heard these arguments, would you still favor a plan that (ANSWER GIVEN IN PD-2) or would you now prefer a plan that (OTHER CHOICE IN PD-2)?   Expanding Medicare Helping Federal Government help people Both equally Neither Don’t know Total Respondents 59 33 1 2 4   PD-2/PD-3 SUMMARY TABLE   Expanding Medicare Having Federal Government help people Both equally Neither Don’t know Total Respondents 53 30 2 7 8   PD-4 I'd like you to rate the chances that you will vote in the next election for president. Are you absolutely certain to vote, will you probably vote, or are the chances 50-50 or less that you will vote?   Absolutely Certain Probably 50-50 Don’t know Total Respondents 69 12 18 1 PD-5 Which do you trust more to provide health insurance to seniors… (READ FIRST ITEM) OR (READ SECOND ITEM)? (ROTATE ITEMS)   The current government-run Medicare program Plans offered through the private health care industry Neither (vol.) Both equally (vol.) Don’t know Total Respondents 47 35 5 2 11     The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation 2400 Sand Hill Road Menlo Park, CA 94025 650-854-9400 Facsimile: 650-854-4800 Washington Office: 1450 G Street N.W., Suite 250 Washington, DC 20005 202-347-5270 Facsimile: 202-347-5274 http://www.kff.org The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer 2700 S. Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22206 703-998-2150; 703-998-2175 http://www.pbs.org/newshour Additional free copies of this publication (#3062) are available on the Foundation’s Web site at www.kff.org or by calling the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Publication Request Line at 1-800-656-4533.