A Closer Look at Heath Care and Prescription Drug Expenditures by Seniors.

Consumer Expenditure data from 1980 to 1997 are used to examine trends in senior consumers' out-of- pocket spending for health care and prescription drugs. In terms of real dollars and budget shares, spending on health care and prescription drugs by seniors has increased over time. Over time, those who purchased health insurance to supplement Medicare were more likely to purchase health maintenance plans and Medicare supplement policies than commercial health insurance or Blue Cross/Blue Shield policies. Among the four supplemental insurance types investigated in this paper, health maintenance plans had the lowest increase in senior policy holders' out-of-pocket expenditures for both prescription drugs and total health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]