Brandeis University

Schneider Institutes for Health Policy

Research Project Summary

Project Title:Study of Prescription Drug Benefit Design on Drug Expenditure Mix by Therapeutic Design
PI:Wallack SS
Team Members:Ritter GA, Thomas CP
Start Date:10/1/2001
End Date:3/31/2002
Funder:Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services (SAMHSA/CMHS)
Research Area:Acute and Chronic Health Care
Core Competencies:Financing, Costs & Value, Technology
Description
This analysis of prescription drug use and spending in a national PBM shows how different cost sharing and drug management techniques can affect how seniors use prescription drugs. We found that higher cost sharing requirements reduce plan costs but largely shift costs to consumers. We also found that the PBM employed utilization management techniques simultaneously with higher cost sharing, making it very difficult to separate out the distinct impact of these very different cost containment techniques.
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