Effect of Copayments and Premium Cost-Sharing on Access and Utilization in State Expansion Programs

According to health services research, effects of copayments were varied:

• Findings of the RAND Health Insurance Experiment, "Free For All?: Lessons from the RAND Health Insurance Experiment," indicated that copayments reduced medical utilization and expenditures, but generally did not affect health status. However, among low-income people, copayments were associated with higher blood pressure.

• Prescription drug utilization research indicates that copayments reduce drug use, and therefore could increase hospitalization costs due to complications related to noncompliance.

• Research on the TennCare program indicated that many participants went without medication because of drug copayments.

For more information and analysis on the effects on instituting cost-sharing, see A Guide to Cost-Sharing and Low-Income People in Medi-Cal and Other California Health Programs (August 1997).

Related Questions

Compare or contrast this information

• How Cost-Sharing Experiences Under SCHIP May Be Different

Give me an overall context

• Overview of Cost-Sharing

• What Are the Implications of Instituting Copayments and Premium Cost-Sharing?

• Implications of Past State Experiences for Effect of Cost-Sharing on SCHIP Access and Utilization

Give me details

• New York State's Child Health Plus Program
• Details of New York State's Program
• Lessons Learned From New York State's Program
• The Florida Healthy Kids Corporation's Experience
• Results of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation's Experience

Show me some lessons learned

• Results of the Study "The Use of Sliding Scale Premiums in Subsidized Insurance Programs"

<Who presented this material?

• Leighton Ku, Ph.D., M.P.H.