Out-of-Pocket Prescribed Drug Costs Among Elderly Women

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DESCRIPTION: Paying for prescription drugs is becoming a significant and growing problem for older Americans. Out-of-pocket prescription drugs (OOP-PD) spending places a disproportionate burden on older women, yet few studies have provided detailed and current information on the determinants of that burden. The present study estimates OOP-PD expenditures burden by women Medicare beneficiaries over age 65, using nationally representative data. OOP-PD burden will be measured in relation to income. The proposed project will explore patterns and correlates of OOP-PD burden among older women using longitudinal data from the multiple years of Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). The proposed project will estimate the proportion of elderly women with high OOP-PD burden and how health care access problems affect OOP-PD burden among subgroups of elderly women. The aims include: what were the trends in OOP-PD burden in a nationally representative sample of elderly women from 1992 through 1998? Was there a change in the predictors of high OOP-PD burden over time from 1992 through 1998? Among elderly women, who have been diagnosed with chronic conditions specific to women such as osteoporosis what factors predict high OOP-PD burden? And how do OOP-PD expenditures in MCBS compare with data from other nationally representative datasets such as Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)? Examining the determinants of OOP-PD burden in this manner can assist policy-makers in understanding the sources of need for further assistance with evaluating alternative solutions to prescription drug issues.