Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2020 Nov 5;11(4):10.24926/iip.v11i4.3410.
doi: 10.24926/iip.v11i4.3410. eCollection 2020.

Trends in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program for Low-income Older Adults in Wisconsin

Kevin Look  1 , Nam Hyo Kim  1 , Laura Dague  2 , Aaron Winn  3
Affiliations
Case Reports

Trends in a State Pharmaceutical Assistance Program for Low-income Older Adults in Wisconsin

Kevin Look et al. Innov Pharm. .

Abstract

Introduction: Many older adults face difficulty in affording their prescription drugs, despite having coverage available through Medicare Part D. SeniorCare is Wisconsin's pharmaceutical assistance program that provides comprehensive drug coverage for low-income older adults who are not eligible for full Medicaid benefits.

Methods: We analyzed SeniorCare enrollment and pharmacy claims data from 2014 to 2018.

Results: Total drug expenditures increased by 19.3%, with the proportion of expenditures paid by SeniorCare and members decreasing while the proportion paid by other payers increased. Specialty drugs accounted for a substantial and growing proportion of total expenditures (20.4% in 2018) despite accounting for <0.2% of all claims.

Conclusions: Total drug expenditures in SeniorCare have steadily increased over time, primarily due to rising average expenditures per drug fill and increased use of specialty drugs. However, SeniorCare members have been largely protected from these increases and have paid a decreasing proportion of costs over time.

Keywords: Older adults; health policy; low-income populations; prescription drugs.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: This study was funded by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The authors of this article are solely responsible for the content therein. The authors would like to thank the Wisconsin DHS for the use of data for this analysis, but this agency does not certify the accuracy of the analyses presented.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Kirzinger A, Neuman T, Cubanski J, Brodie M. Data Note: Prescription Drugs and Older Adults. [Aug 27;2019 ];Kaiser Family Foundation. 2019 https://www.kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/data-note-prescription-dru... Published. Accessed.
    1. QuickStats: Percentage of Adults Aged ≥18 Years Who Were Prescribed Medication in the Past 12 Months, by Sex and Age Group — National Health Interview Survey, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2019;68(97) doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6804a6. doi: - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cohen RA, Boersma P. Strategies Used by Adults Aged 65 and Over to Reduce Their Prescription Drug Costs, 2016–2017. 2019. - PubMed
    1. Wisonsin Department of Health Services SeniorCare Prescription Drug Assistance Program. [Aug 29;2019 ]. https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/seniorcare/ Accessed.
    1. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services About Section 1115 Demonstrations. [Aug 30;2019 ]; https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/section-1115-demo/about-1115/index.html Accessed.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources