A National Comparison of Prescription Drug Expenditures by Medicare Beneficiaries Living in the Community and Long-Term Care Facility Settings

This Policy Brief provides a snapshot of prescription drug use and spending in 2001, the latest year for which complete community and long-term care facility drug data are available. For this analysis, the authors present summary findings of: (1) characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries residing in long-term care facilities and the community; (2) overview of prescription drug utilization and expenditures in aggregate and by therapeutic category; and (3) prescription drug expenditures by source of prescription coverage and Medicare eligibility status. [19 PDF pages]