Demand for prescription drugs under non-linear pricing in Medicare Part D
Abstract We estimate the price elasticity of prescription drug use in Medicare Part D, which features a non-linear price schedule due to a coverage gap. We analyze patterns of drug utilization prior to the coverage gap, where the “effective price” is higher than the actual copayment for drugs because consumers anticipate that more spending will make them more likely to reach the gap. We find that enrollees’ total pre-gap drug spending is sensitive to their effective prices: the estimated price elasticity of drug spending ranges between \(-\) ...
Source: International Journal of Health Care Finance and Economics - March 1, 2014 Category: Health Management Source Type: research