Offsetting Effects of Prescription Drug Use on Medicare's Spending for Medical Services.

摘要

Prescription drugs affect peoples health and their need for medical services. Therefore, policy changes that influence Medicare beneficiaries use of prescription drugs, such as those altering the cost-sharing structure of the Part D prescription drug benefit, probably affect federal spending on their medical services. After reviewing recent research, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that a 1 percent increase in the number of prescriptions filled by beneficiaries would cause Medicares spending on medical services to fall by roughly one-fifth of 1 percent. That estimate, which applies only to policies that directly affect the quantity of prescriptions filled, represents a change in the agencys estimating methodology, which until now has not incorporated such an effect.