Comparing Special Needs Plan Beneficiaries to Other Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan Beneficiaries

摘要

To compare Special Needs Plan (SNP) beneficiaries to other Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug Plan (MA-PD) beneficiaries regarding drug utilization, drug costs, and exposure to potentially inappropriate drug pairs. Because SNPs target special needs individuals who are more likely to have complicated medical regimens, SNP beneficiaries may have an increased risk of exposure to therapeutic duplications or drug-drug interactions. Therapeutic duplications occur when two drugs that treat the same medical condition, taken together, increase the risk of toxicity. Drug-drug interactions occur when two drugs taken together lead to increased toxicity or changes in the efficacy of one or both drugs.