Insurers' Negotiating Leverage and the External Effects of Medicare Part D
研究Medicare D部分实施后保险公司规模扩大如何降低非Medicare商业市场的药品价格，平均降价3.7%，每年节省15亿美元，对政策制定者和保险公司有参考价值。
By influencing the size and bargaining power of private insurers, public subsidization of private health insurance may project effects beyond the subsidized population. We test for such spillovers by analyzing how increases in insurer size resulting from the implementation of Medicare Part D affected drug prices negotiated in the non-Medicare commercial market. On average, Part D lowered prices for commercial enrollees by 3.7%. The external commercial market savings amount to $1.5 billion per year, which, if passed to consumers, approximates the internal cost-savings of newly-insured subsidized beneficiaries. If retained by insurers, it corresponds to a 5% average increase in profitability.