The Value of the Medicare Part D Program for Its Beneficiaries and the Medicare System

In the United States and other advanced countries, governments and individuals regularly lament the high and ever-rising costs of healthcare; and the ongoing aging of their populations virtually ensures that these costs will continue to increase --- perhaps at substantial rates. Many analysts identi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2016
Main Author: Shapiro, Robert J
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Drugs
Economic policy
Government
Health care policy
Progressive Policy Institute
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:In the United States and other advanced countries, governments and individuals regularly lament the high and ever-rising costs of healthcare; and the ongoing aging of their populations virtually ensures that these costs will continue to increase --- perhaps at substantial rates. Many analysts identify the development and broad use of new healthcare technologies as primary sources of these cost increases; and, in the public debate over rising costs, new prescription drugs are often singled out as critical cost drivers. This study examines the cost-benefit calculus for prescription drugs in the context of Medicare and overall healthcare in the United States.