Effects of Prescription Drug Insurance on Hospitalization and Mortality: Evidence from Medicare Part D

Robert Kaestner, Cuiping Long and G Alexander ()

No 19948, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We examine whether obtaining prescription drug insurance through the Medicare Part D program affected hospital admissions, expenditures associated with those admissions, and mortality. We use a large, geographically diverse sample of Medicare beneficiaries and exploit the natural experiment of Medicare Part D to obtain estimates of the effect of prescription drug insurance on hospitalizations and mortality. Results indicate that obtaining prescription drug insurance through Medicare Part D was associated with an 8% decrease in the number of hospital admissions, a 7% decrease in Medicare expenditures, and a 12% decrease in total resource use. Gaining prescription drug insurance through Medicare Part D was not significantly associated with mortality.

JEL-codes: I12 I13 I18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014-02
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-ias
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

Published as Robert Kaestner & Cuping Schiman & G. Caleb Alexander, 2019. "Effects of Prescription Drug Insurance on Hospitalization and Mortality: Evidence from Medicare Part D," Journal of Risk and Insurance, vol 86(3), pages 595-628.

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Journal Article: Effects of Prescription Drug Insurance on Hospitalization and Mortality: Evidence from Medicare Part D (2019)
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