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Does cost sharing really reduce inappropriate prescriptions?

Costa-i-Font, Joan ORCID: 0000-0001-7174-7919 and Gemmill-Toyama, Marin (2010) Does cost sharing really reduce inappropriate prescriptions? CESifo working paper (3002). CESifo Group, Munich, Germany.

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Abstract

This paper explores different empirical strategies to examine the effect of cost sharing for prescription drugs in some dimensions of medication-related quality, namely the probability of inappropriate prescription drug use among United States seniors. Using data from 1996 to 2005, we explore various specifications that correct for sample selection, endogeneity¸ and unobserved heterogeneity. We find a small, but measurable, negative price elasticity for inappropriate drug use with respect to self-reported average out-of-pocket costs for all drugs consumed. That is, user fees reduce the use of potentially inappropriate medications, however the elasticity of cost sharing is lower than that of drugs in general and the price elasticity is relatively close to zero, suggesting that any quality improvements from co-payments are small.

Item Type: Monograph (Working Paper)
Official URL: http://www.cesifo-group.de/portal/page/portal/ifoH...
Additional Information: © 2010 The authors
Divisions: Social Policy
European Institute
LSE Health
Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine
JEL classification: I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I10 - General
I - Health, Education, and Welfare > I1 - Health > I18 - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
Date Deposited: 23 Apr 2010 14:07
Last Modified: 15 Sep 2023 23:19
URI: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/27752

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