The results of the 2011 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) showed that adults aged 18–64 (19.8%) and those aged 65 and over (20.3%) were equally likely to ask their doctor for a lower-cost medication to save money. On the other hand, 18–64 year-olds (12.6%) were more than twice as likely as adults ≥ 65 years (5.8%) to not have taken medication as prescribed to save money.

Adults aged 18–64 (6%) were also more likely to save money by using alternative therapies compared with adults ≥ 65 years (2.3%). About 2% of all adults bought prescription drugs from another country to save money.

Among adults aged 18–64, uninsured adults (23.1%) were more likely than those with Medicaid (13.6%) or those with private coverage (8.7%) to not have taken medication as prescribed to save money. Whereas in adults ≥ 65 years, those with only Medicare coverage were more likely to ask their doctor for a lower-cost medication to save money (24.9%) compared with those who had private coverage (20.1%) and those with Medicare and Medicaid (14.7%) coverage.

Adults who were poor (18–64 years, 19.7%; ≥ 65 years, 9.0%) or near poor (18–64 years, 18.1%; ≥ 65 years, 9.4%) were found to be twice as likely to not take medication as prescribed in order to save money compared to adults who were not poor (18–64 years, 9.6%; ≥ 65 years, 4.0%). Whereas patients who were near poor (18–64 years, 22.2%; ≥ 65 years, 24.0%) were more likely than those who were poor (18–64 years, 20.4%; ≥ 65 years, 15.1%) and those who were not poor (18–64 years, 19.0%; ≥ 65 years, 19.8%) to ask their doctor for a lower-cost medication to save money.

The report noted that it focused only on cost-related strategies used by adults to reduce their prescription medication costs, and that there are also other barriers to medication adherence including those not related to cost that are not measured in NHIS years.

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