Health Insurance, Medical Care, and Health Outcomes
研究处方药覆盖如何改变医疗消费，利用Medicare受益人数据模拟不同药物覆盖情景，发现药物覆盖使五年内药物支出增加7%至27%，死亡率略降但幸存者健康更差，总医疗支出上升。
Abstract Prescription drug coverage creates a change in medical care consumption, beyond standard moral hazard, arising both from the differential cost-sharing and the relative effectiveness of different types of care. We model the dynamic supplemental health insurance decisions of Medicare beneficiaries, their medical care demand, and subsequent health outcomes over time. Using parameter estimates obtained with longitudinal individual-level data, we simulate behavior under different drug coverage scenarios. Prescription drug coverage increases drug expenditures by 7 percent to 27 percent over a five-year period. While mortality rates fall slightly, the survivors have poorer health, leading to higher total medical expenditures.