Cost sharing and decreased branded oral anti-diabetic medication adherence among elderly Part D Medicare beneficiaries.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although the Medicare Part D coverage gap phase-out should reduce cost-related nonadherence (CRN) among seniors with diabetes, preferential generic prescribing may have already decreased CRN, while smaller numbers of patients using more costly branded oral anti-diabetic (OAD) medications remain vulnerable to CRN.

Objective

To estimate the effects of cost sharing in the Part D standard (non-LIS) benefit on adherence to different OAD classes, comparing two classes dominated by inexpensive generic medications and two by more costly branded medications.

Design and patients

Retrospective cohort study using dispensed prescription data for elderly non-LIS (N=81,047) and LIS (low-income subsidy) (N=150,359) beneficiaries using same class OAD(s) in 2008 and 2009. Lo

SUBMITTER: Sacks NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3682054 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature