How Low-Income Subsidy Recipients Respond to Medicare Part D Cost Sharing.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To determine the magnitude and mechanisms of response to Medicare Part D cost sharing by low-income subsidy (LIS) recipients using oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) and statins.

Data sources

Medicare data for a 5 percent random sample of beneficiaries with diabetes enrolled in fee-for-service Part D drug plans in 2008.

Study design

We evaluated the impact of differences between generic and brand cost sharing rates among cohorts of LIS and non-LIS recipients to determine if wider price spreads increased the generic dispensing rate (GDR) and reduced total drug use and cost.

Principal findings

We found little association between cost sharing and aggregate OHA and statin use. In adjusted analyses, non-LIS beneficiaries who paid 46 percent of total OHA cost

SUBMITTER: Stuart B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5441476 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature