Who bears the burden of Medicaid drug copayment policies?
This DataWatch examines the impact of Medicaid prescription drug copayment policies in thirty-eight states using survey data from the 1992 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. Findings indicate that elderly and disabled Medicaid recipients who reside in states with copay provisions have significantly lower rates of drug use than their counterparts in states without copayments. After controlling for other factors, we find that the primary effect of copayments is to reduce the likelihood that Medicaid recipients fill any prescription during the year. This burden falls disproportionately on recipients in poor health.
Stuart
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B
University of Maryland's School of Pharmacy, Baltimore, USA.
Zacker
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C
D000368:Aged; D017047:Cost Sharing; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016527:Drug Costs; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000191:economics*; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D007356:Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics; D008484:Medicaid / Q000191:economics*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014481:United States