Medicare Part D
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health was published in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. This large-scale study, covering more than 35,000 patients over four years, was more comprehensive than prior studies in addressing effects of the Medicare prescription program, which covers nearly 27 million people.
The study found that Medicare enrollees that had limited or no prescription-drug coverage prior to the passage of Medicare Part D decreased their medical care expenses between $33 and $46 per month.
“The primary goal of Medicare Part D was to reduce beneficiaries’ financial burden and improve mediation use,” explained Yuting Zhang, Ph.D., lead author of the study and an assistant profession of health economics at the University Of Pittsburgh Graduate School Of Public Health.
The study also indicates that those who didn’t have drug coverage, once they did get it, accessed the medication they needed and that kept them out of doctor’s office and emergency rooms. That drug coverage might curb other medical costs by improving the control of chronic illnesses.
One surprise was that drug spending actually went up in the group that had the most coverage before joining Part D. “The impact of Part D on medical spending really depended on prior drug coverage,” said Zhang. Those with prior coverage actually increased their medical spending by $30 dollar a month.
Jonathan Gruber, an economics professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said the study demonstrated that many people are over insured. Gruber also said that the study supported the idea of providing a basic level of insurance to as many people as possible under any federal changes in health care.
To read the study, click HERE.
