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. 2016 Oct;106(10):1804-7.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303269. Epub 2016 Aug 23.

Medication Costs and Adherence of Treatment Before and After the Affordable Care Act: 1999-2015

Jae Kennedy  1 , Elizabeth Geneva Wood  1
Affiliations

Medication Costs and Adherence of Treatment Before and After the Affordable Care Act: 1999-2015

Jae Kennedy et al. Am J Public Health. 2016 Oct.

Abstract

To examine national changes in rates of cost-related prescription nonadherence (CRN) by age group, we used data from the 1999-2015 Sample Adult and Sample Child National Health Interview Surveys (n = 768 781). In a logistic regression analysis of 2015 data, we identified subgroups at risk for cost-related nonadherence. The proportion of all Americans who did not fill a prescription in the previous 12 months because they could not afford it grew from 1999 to 2009, peaking at 8.3% at the height of the Great Recession and dropping to 5.2% by 2015. CRN among seniors, however, peaked in 2004 at 5.4% and dropped to 3.6% after implementation of Medicare Part D in 2006. CRN is responsive to improved access related to implementation of Medicare Part D and the Affordable Care Act.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Population Estimates and Prevalence Rates of Cost-Related Nonadherence: United States, 1999–2015
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Prevalence Rates of Cost-Related Nonadherence by Age Group: United States, 1999–2015
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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