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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.

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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.

References

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    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.

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