- Center on Health Equity & Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Study: Brand-Name Drugs Drive Medicare Costs
Connecticut seniors on Medicare are more likely to take sedatives for insomnia and medications for depression than their counterparts across the country, according to a new report by Dartmouth researchers.
Connecticut seniors on Medicare are more likely to take sedatives for insomnia and medications for depression than their counterparts across the country, according to a new report by Dartmouth researchers.
An analysis of state data in a national report by the Dartmouth Atlas Project shows that Connecticut's Medicare program relies heavily on brand-name drugs, versus generics, especially in wealthy towns in Fairfield County -- a factor that could be contributing to the state's ranking in the top 10 nationally in prescription drug spending per patient.
Connecticut seniors spent an average of $2,795 on medications in 2010 -- 45 percent higher than the lowest-spending state, Minnesota, and the highest rate in New England.
The new report provides an in-depth look at how prescription drugs are used by Medicare beneficiaries, ages 65 and older, in the program's Part D drug benefit, which had 37 million enrollees in 2012. It shows wide variations in the use of both effective and risky drugs among the 306 regional health care markets across the U.S.
Read the full story here: http://bit.ly/Hftswh
Source: News Times
Neurologists Share Tips for Securing Patient Access to Gene Therapies
March 19th 2025Tenacious efforts at every level, from the individual clinician to the hospital to the state to Congress, will be needed to make sure patients can access life-saving gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases.
Read More
Varied Access: The Pharmacogenetic Testing Coverage Divide
February 18th 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we speak with the author of a study published in the February 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care® to uncover significant differences in coverage decisions for pharmacogenetic tests across major US health insurers.
Listen
The Impact of Cost Sharing on High-Value Care
March 14th 2025Michael Chernew, PhD, professor of health care policy and director of the Healthcare Markets and Regulation Lab, Harvard Medical School, shares how cost-sharing policies shape access to critical health care services and influence value-based insurance design.
Read More
