Okunade A A
Economics Department (Rm. 450BB), Fogelman College of Business & Economics, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.
J Health Soc Policy. 2001;12(3):33-51. doi: 10.1300/j045v12n03_03.
The U.S. Congress passed a new law (PL 101-508) in 1990 requiring the pharmaceutical manufacturers to grant rebates on prescription drugs sold at retail under the federal Medicaid program. The goals include containing Medicaid program costs and expanding access of the indigent to ethical drug treatments. This paper evaluates the impact of HCFA's mandatory federal upper limit (FUL) prices on the retail sales volume of prescription drugs during 1994. Data of the most frequently dispensed drugs, as measured by the National Prescription Audit of IMS America, are used. Regression model results suggest that the competing drug prices impact sales significantly, and Medicaid drug rebates expand access to drug interventions by stimulating retail transactions. Prescription sales are also own-price insensitive (inelastic) in Medicaid and non-Medicaid market segments. The implications of extending Medicaid prescription drug rebates policy to enrollees in the traditional Medicare program are examined.
1990年，美国国会通过了一项新法律（第101 - 508号公法），要求制药商对根据联邦医疗补助计划在零售药店销售的处方药给予回扣。目标包括控制医疗补助计划成本以及扩大贫困人群获得正规药物治疗的机会。本文评估了1994年医疗保健财务管理局（HCFA）的强制性联邦上限（FUL）价格对处方药零售销量的影响。使用了美国IMS公司全国处方审计所衡量的最常配药的数据。回归模型结果表明，竞争药品价格对销售有显著影响，医疗补助药品回扣通过刺激零售交易扩大了药物干预的可及性。在医疗补助和非医疗补助市场细分中，处方药销售对自身价格也不敏感（缺乏弹性）。本文还探讨了将医疗补助处方药回扣政策扩展至传统医疗保险计划参保人的影响。
