Prescription Drugs and the Elderly: Issues and Options
Open Access
- 1 January 1994
- journal article
- Published by Health Affairs (Project Hope) in Health Affairs
- Vol. 13 (2) , 157-174
- https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.13.2.157
Abstract
This paper examines the elderly's need for prescription drug insurance, the extent and depth of current coverage supplementary to Medicare, the characteristics of those who have coverage and those who do not, and the problem of adverse selection in individual insurance for prescription drugs. It also discusses the issues that must be resolved in choosing the direction public policy should take if more of the elderly are to be covered and examines the advantages and disadvantages of four illustrative public policy options, ranging from small expansions of Medicaid benefits through "Medigap" regulation to Medicare coverage for all elderly.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- National Health Care Spending in 1991Health Affairs, 1993
- The demand for prescription drugs as a function of cost-sharingSocial Science & Medicine, 1985