Lundberg L, Johannesson M, Isacson D G, Borgquist L
Uppsala University, Sweden.
Health Policy. 1998 May;44(2):123-34. doi: 10.1016/s0168-8510(98)00009-8.
This study examined the sensitivity towards increases in user charges for different types of drugs and among different socio-economic groups. It was based on responses by 2008 consumers of prescription drugs to a self-administered postal questionnaire sent to a random sample of 8000 inhabitants in Uppsala County in Sweden. The questionnaire included a question about whether the respondents would use fewer prescription drugs if the user charges increased by a specific amount. The increase in user charges was varied between 9 and 150% in five different subsamples. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the probability that a respondent would reduce consumption of prescription drugs as a function of the size of the user charges increase, socio-economic characteristics and the type of drug used. Results showed that the price sensitivity decreased with increasing age, income, education and self-rated health status. Price sensitivity was highest for antitussives and lowest for climacteric drugs. If the user charges doubled, 40% of antitussives users would reduce their consumption whereas only 11% of climacteric drugs users would reduce their consumption. It is concluded that sensitivity to increases in user charges varied greatly between different types of drugs and between socio-economic groups. The young, those with poor health status, low education and low income are most likely to decrease consumption of prescription drugs when user charges increase.
本研究考察了不同类型药物以及不同社会经济群体对药费上涨的敏感度。该研究基于2008名瑞典乌普萨拉郡处方药消费者对一份自行填写的邮政调查问卷的回复，该问卷被发送给从8000名居民中随机抽取的样本。问卷包含一个问题：如果药费上涨特定金额，受访者是否会减少处方药的使用量。在五个不同的子样本中，药费上涨幅度在9%至150%之间变化。使用逻辑回归分析来估计受访者减少处方药消费的概率，该概率是药费上涨幅度、社会经济特征以及所使用药物类型的函数。结果表明，价格敏感度随着年龄、收入、教育程度和自评健康状况的增加而降低。镇咳药的价格敏感度最高，更年期药物的价格敏感度最低。如果药费翻倍，40%的镇咳药使用者会减少用药量，而只有11%的更年期药物使用者会减少用药量。研究得出结论，不同类型药物之间以及不同社会经济群体之间对药费上涨的敏感度差异很大。年轻人、健康状况差的人、教育程度低的人和低收入者在药费上涨时最有可能减少处方药的消费。
