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Does Medicare Part D Save Lives?

Author

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  • Abe Dunn

    (Bureau of Economic Analysis abe.dunn@bea.gov)

  • Adam Hale Shapiro

    (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco)

Abstract

We examine the impact of Medicare Part D on mortality for the population over the age of 65. We identify the effects of the reform using variation in drug coverage across counties before the reform was implemented. Studying mortality rates immediately before and after the reform, we find that cardiovascular-related mortality drops significantly in those counties most affected by Part D. Estimates suggest that up to 26,000 more individuals were alive in mid-2007 because of the Part D implementation in 2006. We estimate the welfare benefit from lives saved to range from $1.5 to $4.8 billion.

Suggested Citation

  • Abe Dunn & Adam Hale Shapiro, 2019. "Does Medicare Part D Save Lives?," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 5(1), pages 126-164, Winter.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:amjhec:v:5:y:2019:i:1:p:126-164
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    File URL: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.1162/ajhe_a_00107
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    Cited by:

    1. Powell, David & Pacula, Rosalie Liccardo & Taylor, Erin, 2020. "How increasing medical access to opioids contributes to the opioid epidemic: Evidence from Medicare Part D," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Américo, Pedro & Rocha, Rudi, 2020. "Subsidizing access to prescription drugs and health outcomes: The case of diabetes," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Black, Bernard & Hollingsworth, Alex & Nunes, Letícia & Simon, Kosali, 2022. "Simulated power analyses for observational studies: An application to the Affordable Care Act Medicaid expansion," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    4. Borgschulte, Mark & Vogler, Jacob, 2020. "Did the ACA Medicaid expansion save lives?," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    5. Rebecca M. Myerson & Reginald D. Tucker‐Seeley & Dana P. Goldman & Darius N. Lakdawalla, 2020. "Does Medicare Coverage Improve Cancer Detection and Mortality Outcomes?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 577-604, June.
    6. Pak, Tae-Young & Kim, GwanSeon, 2017. "The impact of Medicare Part D on cognitive functioning at older ages," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 118-126.
    7. Hall Anne E., 2016. "Estimating Regression-Based Medical Care Expenditure Indexes for Medicare Advantage Enrollees," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 261-297, December.
    8. Shen, Yichen & Noguchi, Haruko, 2021. "Impacts of anticancer drug parity laws on mortality rates," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    prescription drug insurance; Medicare Part D; mortality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I11 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Analysis of Health Care Markets
    • I13 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Insurance, Public and Private

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