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The Impact of Medicare Part D on Emergency Department Visits
Author(s) -
Ayyagari Padmaja,
Shane Dan M.,
Wehby George L.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
health economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.55
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1099-1050
pISSN - 1057-9230
DOI - 10.1002/hec.3326
Subject(s) - emergency department , prescription drug , medicine , medical prescription , health care , medical emergency , medicare part d , emergency medicine , nursing , political science , law
The Medicare Part D program introduced prescription drug coverage for seniors in 2006. We examine the impact of this program on the use of emergency department (ED) care. Using a difference‐in‐differences model, we find declines in the number of ED visits for non‐emergency care but not for emergency care, suggesting that Part D may have led to better management of health and reduced unnecessary use of EDs. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.