We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
The impact of Medicare Part D on prescription drug use by the elderly.
- Authors
Lichtenberg, Frank R; Sun, Shawn X
- Abstract
This study investigates the effect of Medicare Part D on the elderly's prescription drug use and out-of-pocket costs using a difference-in-differences research design. We estimate that Medicare Part D reduced user cost among the elderly by 18.4 percent, increased their use of prescription drugs by about 12.8 percent, and increased total U.S. usage by 4.5 percent in 2006. The estimated crowd-out rate was about 72 percent: Every seven prescriptions paid for by the government crowded out five other prescriptions and resulted in only two additional prescriptions used. This does not necessarily mean that Medicare Part D is an economically inefficient program.
- Publication
Health affairs (Project Hope), 2007, Vol 26, Issue 6, p1735
- ISSN
1544-5208
- Publication type
Journal Article
- DOI
10.1377/hlthaff.26.6.1735