ArticleInternational journal of health policy and management2016
Cost-Sharing Rates Increase During Deep Recession: Preliminary Data From Greece.
Article in International journal of health policy and management, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Impact of the economic crisis on household health expenditure in Greece: an interrupted time series analysis.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Impact of the financial crisis on COPD burden: Greece as a case study.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2018Review
- Comparing Generic Drug Markets in Europe and the United States: Prices, Volumes, and Spending.The Milbank quarterly · 2017Article
- Medium-term impact of the economic crisis on mortality, health-related behaviours and access to healthcare in Greece.Scientific reports · 2017Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundMeasures taken over the past four years in Greece to reduce pharmaceutical expenditure have led to significant price reductions for medicines, but have also changed patient cost-sharing rates for prescription drugs. This study attempts to capture the resulting increase in patients' out-of-pocket (OOP) expenses for prescription drugs during the 2011-2014 period.
methodsThe authors conducted a retrospective review of financial data derived from 39 883 prescriptions, dispensed at three randomly chosen pharmacies located in Lamia, central Greece.
resultsThe study recorded an average contribution rate per prescription as follows: 11.28% for 2011 (95% CI: 10.76-11.80), 14.10% for 2012, 19.97% for 2013, and 29.08% for 2014. Correspondingly, the mean patient charge per prescription for 2011 was €6.58 (95% CI: 6.22-6.94), €8.28 for 2012, €8.35 for 2013, and €10.87 for 2014. During the 2011-2014 period, mean percentage rate of patient contribution increased by 157.75%, while average patient charge per prescription in current prices increased by 65.22%. The use of a newly introduced internal reference price (IRP) system increased the level of prescription charge at a rate of 2.41% for 2012 (100% surcharge on patients), 26.24% for 2013 (49.95% on patients and 50.04% on the appropriate health insurance funds), and 47.72% for 2014 (85.06% on patients and 14.94% on funds).
conclusionIncreased cost-sharing rates for prescription drugs can reduce public pharmaceutical expenditure, but international experience shows that rising OOP expenses can compromise patients' ability to pay, particularly when it comes to chronic diseases and vulnerable populations. Various suggestions could be effective in refining the cost-sharing approach by giving greater consideration to chronic patients, and to the poor and elderly.
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