Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 22, no. 3 (2003): 149-158 doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.22.3.149 © 2003 by Project HOPE	New Online   Getting Health Reform Done   After the State of the Union   Incremental Reform   E-Health in Developing World   Most-Read Articles in 2009

This Article Figures Only Full Text (HTML) Reprint (PDF) Submit a response to this article Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Comments are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Personal Archive Download to Citation Manager Reprints & Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (21) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Huskamp, H. A. Articles by Blumenthal, D. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Huskamp, H. A. Articles by Blumenthal, D. Related Collections Medicare Military Medicine Pharmaceuticals

Health Tracking

MARKETWATCH

The Impact Of A National Prescription Drug Formulary On Prices, Market Share, And Spending: Lessons For Medicare?

Haiden A. Huskamp, Arnold M. Epstein and David Blumenthal

Several recent bills in Congress to add a Medicare prescription drug benefit would allow the use of formularies to control costs. However, there is little empirical evidence of the impact of formularies among elderly and disabled populations. We assess the effect of a closed formulary implemented by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) in 1997 on drug prices, market share, and drug spending. We find that the VHA National Formulary was effective at shifting prescribing behavior toward the selected drugs, achieving sizable price reductions from manufacturers, and greatly decreasing drug spending.

                      What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. A. Fischer, C. Vogeli, M. Stedman, T. Ferris, M. A. Brookhart, and J. S. Weissman Effect of Electronic Prescribing With Formulary Decision Support on Medication Use and Cost Arch Intern Med, December 8, 2008; 168(22): 2433 - 2439. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. B. Frakt, S. D. Pizer, and A. M. Hendricks Controlling Prescription Drug Costs: Regulation and the Role of Interest Groups in Medicare and the Veterans Health Administration Journal of Health Politics Policy and Law, December 1, 2008; 33(6): 1079 - 1106. [Abstract] [PDF]

				J. J. Mongan, T. G. Ferris, and T. H. Lee Options for Slowing the Growth of Health Care Costs N. Engl. J. Med., April 3, 2008; 358(14): 1509 - 1514. [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. P. Goldman, G. F. Joyce, and Y. Zheng Prescription Drug Cost Sharing: Associations With Medication and Medical Utilization and Spending and Health JAMA, July 4, 2007; 298(1): 61 - 69. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. K. Choudhry and A. S. Detsky A Perspective on US Drug Reimportation JAMA, January 19, 2005; 293(3): 358 - 362. [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. N. Nugent, A. Hendricks, L. Nugent, and M. L. Render Value for Taxpayers' Dollars: What VA Care Would Cost at Medicare Prices Med Care Res Rev, December 1, 2004; 61(4): 495 - 508. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. M. Mello, D. M. Studdert, and T. A. Brennan The Pharmaceutical Industry versus Medicaid -- Limits on State Initiatives to Control Prescription-Drug Costs N. Engl. J. Med., February 5, 2004; 350(6): 608 - 613. [Full Text] [PDF]

				H. A. Huskamp, P. A. Deverka, A. M. Epstein, R. S. Epstein, K. A. McGuigan, and R. G. Frank The Effect of Incentive-Based Formularies on Prescription-Drug Utilization and Spending N. Engl. J. Med., December 4, 2003; 349(23): 2224 - 2232. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]