Selecting health insurance: the importance of prescription drug coverage and pharmacy factors in consumer decision making.

This study determined how important prescription drug coverage was to consumers in selecting their health insurance plans, the specific pharmacy factors they considered, and the importance of factors considered. A mail survey questionnaire was sent to 800 state government and university employees residing in the Madison, Wisconsin area; 453 questionnaires were returned. The majority (59.0 percent) of respondents aware of health insurance prescription coverage placed at least moderate importance on that coverage when selecting their health insurance plan. The specific factors considered most often were cost, location, convenience, and flexibility to choose or change pharmacies. The importance ratings for cost, location, flexibility, and the pharmacist varied among respondents enrolled in different health insurance plans.