Prescription drug coverage creates a change in medical care consumption, beyond standard moral hazard, arising both from the differential cost-sharing and the relative effectiveness of different types of care. We model the dynamic supplemental health insurance decisions of Medicare beneficiaries, their medical care demand, and subsequent health…

Savings in hospital reimbursements through use of extended-care facilities to shorten hospital stays for Medicare patients have more than outweighed the costs of the extended-care facilities. (MF)

The study analyzes physician and hospital utilization patterns of the elderly using 1969 data from the Health Interview Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics to determine why Medicare payments to high income elderly persons are much higher than to low income elderly persons. (Author/BP)