Prescription Drug Insurance and its Effect on Utilization and Health of the Elderly

46 Pages Posted: 20 Jan 2007 Last revised: 11 Aug 2022

See all articles by Nasreen Khan

Nasreen Khan

University of New Mexico

Robert Kaestner

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy

Swu Jane Lin

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: January 2007

Abstract

The Medicare Modernization Act was recently established, to provide limited drug coverage to the elderly. However, there is limited evidence on how drug coverage might affect health. The goal of this paper is to obtain "causal effects" of prescription drug coverage on drug use, use of other medical services and health of the elderly. We use fixed-effects analysis to control for unmeasured person-specific effects that may confound the relationships of interest. Results show prescription drug coverage, particularly public coverage, significantly increased the utilization of prescription drugs, but had no discernable effect on hospital admissions or health.

Suggested Citation

Khan, Nasreen and Kaestner, Robert and Kaestner, Robert and Lin, Swu Jane, Prescription Drug Insurance and its Effect on Utilization and Health of the Elderly (January 2007). NBER Working Paper No. w12848, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=958500

Nasreen Khan

University of New Mexico ( email )

107 Humanitites Building
Albuquerque, NM 87131-1221
United States

Robert Kaestner (Contact Author)

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

5 Hanover Square 16th floor
New York, NY 10004
United States

University of Chicago - Harris School of Public Policy ( email )

1307 E. 60th Street
Room 3057
Chicago, IL 60637
United States

Swu Jane Lin

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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