Designing an integrated drug benefit for the elderly.
The elderly are hit hard by high out-of-pocket expenses for medicines, but a stand-alone pharmaceutical benefit could cost the country billions and still not improve older Americans' quality of care. Such a benefit should be coordinated with patients' overall medical benefits. A systems-based pharmaceutical benefit is financially feasible through a combination of premiums and cost sharing, market-driven price reductions, and cost savings achieved through integrated managed care programs and improved outcomes.
King
A B
AB
Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Norwich, NY.
Colligen
B H
BH
Levy
R A
RA
Cohen
K R
KR
D000368:Aged; D017046:Cost Savings; D003625:Data Collection; D005382:Financing, Personal; D018166:Health Care Reform; D005102:Health Expenditures; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007356:Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000191:economics*; D006278:Medicare / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States