The Peter Lamy Center for Drug Therapy and Aging - Research

Stuart, B. (P.I.), Shea, D., Briesacher, B, Zuckerman, I. "Addressing the Cost and Quality of Prescription Coverage of Medicare Beneficiaries," The Commonwealth Fund, (2001-2003)

Description

Addressing the Cost and Quality of Prescription
Drug Coverage of Medicare Beneficiaries

This project focuses on the cost and quality of drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries by (1) estimating the cost of a Medicare drug benefit, (2) tracking prescription coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, and (3) developing quality indicators for prescription coverage for program beneficiaries

The first study task will produce a cost simulation model for projecting the impact of Medicare drug benefits on government outlays and out-of-pocket cost for program beneficiaries. This simulator will permit quick turnaround estimates for new proposals based on the latest data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) together with realistic assumptions about program take-up, crowd-out, and drug pricing.

The second study task is a continuation of current work for the Commonwealth Fund in depicting beneficiaries’ needs for stable drug coverage based on analyses of patterns and trends in coverage from the MCBS. The new work will focus on the implications of changes in drug coverage in 1999 and 2000 on new retirees, low-income beneficiaries, and HMO enrollees.

The third task examines the qualitative returns that drug coverage can (or should) provide to Medicare beneficiaries. Three sets of quality indicators will be used to assess the value that beneficiaries receive from current sources of drug coverage in terms of protection from overuse and inappropriate medications, access to innovator drugs and other high-cost therapies, and access and continuity of therapy for selected chronic diseases.

The findings from these studies will provide important new perspectives on the debate over a Medicare drug benefit.

Publications

None at this time.

Presentations

Shea, D., Stuart, B., Lee, W., and Briesacher, B, "Participating and Crowd-Out in a Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit: Estimates from a Stimulation." Academy for Health Services and Health Policy Annual Meetings, Washington DC, June 25, 2002.

Kamal-Bahl, S., Stuart, B., and Briesacher, B. "Propoxyphene Use in the Elderly: Prevalence and Predictors of Use of a Potentially Inappropriate Drug." Academy for Health Services Research and Health Policy Annual Meetings, Washington DC, June 23, 2002.

Doshi, J., Kamal-Bahl, S., Stuart, B., Briesacher, B. "Propoxyphene Use Amoung the Community-Dwelling and Institutionalized Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries." Drug Information Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, June 17, 2002.

Stuart, B. "Patterns in Prescription Coverage, Use, and Cost for Medicare Beneficiaries in 1999," State Prescription Drug Programs: Lessons for Medicare. Academy for Health Services Research Health Policy, Washington DC, June 10, 2002.

Stuart, B. "Quality Indicators for Prescription Drug Use Among Aged Medicare Beneficiaries" Best Practices for Pharmaecological Therapies in Behavioral Health, PRO Workshop No. 4, Co-sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and the Centers for Medicare Services (CMS), Baltimore, May 13, 2002.

Stuart, B., and Briesacher, B. "Patterns in Prescription Coverage, Use, and Cost for Medicare Beneficiaries in 1999," Medicare Prescription Drugs: Options and possibilities, Commonwealth Fund Roundtable, Washington DC, April 3, 2002.

Stuart, B. "Quality Indicators for Prescription Drug Use," Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, User Liaison Program, Appropriate Drug Use and Prescription Drug Programs: Adding Value by Improving Quality Workshop for State and Local Policymakers. Denver, November 6, 2001.

University of Maryland School of Pharmacy