The impact of Medicare part D prescription drug benefit program on generic drug prescription: A study in long-term care facilities. Issue 32 (August 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jung, Changmi; Padman, Rema; Anwar, Shamena
• Other Names: Phan. Phillip section editor.
• Is Part Of: Medicine. Volume 98:Issue 32(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-08
• Subjects: difference-in-difference analysis -- generic drug -- Medicare Part D -- medication prescription; Medicine -- Periodicals; Medicine -- Periodicals; Médecine -- Périodiques; Geneeskunde; Medicine; Periodicals; Periodicals; 610.5
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000016646
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-7974

Abstract

Abstract : Abstract: To examine whether the Medicare Part D program had an impact on the generic drug prescription rate among residents in long-term care facilities. We analyzed prescription data for 3 drug classes (atypical antipsychotic, proton pump inhibitor, and statin) obtained from a regional online pharmacy serving long-term care centers in Pennsylvania from January 2004 to December 2007. Difference-in-difference is used as a primary analysis method, and different regression methods (probit and multinomial) are used to accommodate different types of outcome measures. Contrary to expectations, the Part D program did not have a statistically significant impact on the generic prescription rate in the long-term care setting during the study period. Only the statin class showed a dramatic increase in generic drug prescriptions, mainly due to the loss of patent protection for one of the most popular brand-name drugs in the class. The complex dynamics of the prescription drug market, particularly the availability of generic versions of popular prescription medications, had a bigger role in increasing the prescription rate of generic drugs than the Part D program. This warrants the need to relax prescription medicines' patent policies and for further study on the impact of such policies.