Health Affairs

Health Affairs, 28, no. 2 (2009): w305-w316 (Published online 3 February 2009) doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.2.w305 © 2009 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

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The Effect Of Medicare Part D Coverage On Drug Use And Cost Sharing Among Seniors Without Prior Drug Benefits

Sebastian Schneeweiss, Amanda R. Patrick, Alex Pedan, Laleh Varasteh, Raisa Levin, Nan Liu and William H. Shrank

This study evaluates the effect of Medicare Part D among seniors who previously lacked drug coverage, using time-trend analyses of patient-level dispensing data from three pharmacy chains. Of 114,766 seniors without drug benefits, 55 percent initiated drug insurance under Part D. After the penalty-free Part D enrollment period, use of statins, clopidogrel, and proton pump inhibitors stabilized at levels ranging from 11 percent to 37 percent above the trend that would have been expected if Part D had not been implemented. Patients reaching the Part D coverage gap (12 percent) experienced a decrease in essential medication use ranging from 5.7 percentage points per month for warfarin to 6.3 percentage points for statins.

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				P. Neuman and J. Cubanski Medicare Part D Update -- Lessons Learned and Unfinished Business N. Engl. J. Med., July 23, 2009; 361(4): 406 - 414. [Full Text] [PDF]