Medicaid expansion linked to increase in prescriptions 4 chronic conditions

[Born To Slay 10,996]

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/aca-medicaid-prescriptions/

During the first one and a half years of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the number of prescriptions filled by adults using Medicaid coverage increased by 19% in states that expanded Medicaid compared to states that did not, according to a new study from a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researcher and colleagues. The largest increases were for medications to manage chronic conditions such as diabetes, and for birth control.

“We knew the Medicaid expansion had improved access to care, but this study gives us much more detail about what that really means for patient care. Medications for conditions like diabetes and heart disease can be life-savers,” said Benjamin Sommers, associate professor of health policy and economics, one of the study’s authors.

They found that over the first year and a half of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion, medications used for treating diabetes accounted for the largest growth among all drug classes, with an increase of 24%. Other classes of medications that showed large increases included contraceptives (22%), cardiovascular drugs (21%), and mental healthdrugs (19%). Within expansion states, increases in prescription drug utilization were larger in geographical areas with higher uninsured rates prior to the ACA.

[Economy 52,861]

In cases like life saving meds, the government will save more long term by delaying the time that they will have to rely on the system as they get too ill

 

Here in Canada we should have more coverage for medications i think. Too many people skimp on them if they are tight in cash

[ItsTommyBitch 12,640]

Wait, Medicaid expansion actually helped people?

Someone tell the Republicans, maybe they'll stop being partisan hacks and care about their constituents 

/s